Mobiles could soon be fitted with an emergency lockdown feature that activates automatically if the phone falls into the wrong hands or is targeted by hackers.

As technology becomes more advanced, people are using mobile devices to store much more sensitive data than ever before, including personal details, bank codes and cash transaction information, as well as photos and video, emails, call logs and internet histories, all of which can be exploited if the phone is breached or stolen.

Now experts at Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) are embarking on an ambitious project to tighten mobile security with the development of handsets that ‘learn’ the daily routine of their owners. Any unusual call or application is then picked up and the handset could shut down, bar all incoming and outgoing calls, withhold access to sensitive data and payment functions, or block any attempts to tap calls, thereby reducing the phone’s usefulness to thieves and making it impenetrable to hackers.

The handset can only be reactivated by the owner, who simply authorises the change in routine. Initially, this could be done by entering a PIN, though more sophisticated methods of identification which may rely upon inputs from a touch screen, or a built-in camera or microphone, are also being investigated.

The two-year, £170,000 research project was awarded as a Marie Curie Fellowship and is funded through the European FP7 programme. It is the third Marie Curie Fellowship success for GCU.

The “Active Behaviour Demands Active Security: New Approaches to Mobile Device Security” project will be led by research fellow Dr Gunes Kayacik under the supervision of network security lecturer Dr. Mike Just and Professor Lynne Baillie of GCU, and Dr. David Aspinall from the University of Edinburgh.

Gunes said: “Mobile devices are becoming an essential part of our daily lives, which unfortunately also makes them an attractive target for attackers.

“Our project will address some of the security risks previously not addressed and hopefully will improve more security and protection for people, safeguarding users and providers of mobile phones.”

“Our job is to facilitate this process and help make the relevant connections and I look forward to working with GCU to make this happen”

31 January 2012