Apps Still Plagued With Security Issues

Apps lacking proper security put user information at risk. This isn’t news, but the number of apps lacking said security is.

In a study conducted by the Imperial College London and Ecole Polytechnique in France, 79 apps were reviewed for the security and encryption. According to mHealth Intelligence, 23 of the mobile health apps actually sent patient identity data over the Internet without any encryption. In addition, researchers found 70 of the apps studied transmitted data to online services. Thirty-eight had mobile health security and privacy policies, but these privacy policies did not explain whether personal information would be sent through these transmissions.

iHealth Beat notes the study focused on apps devoted to self-care for long-term medical conditions, smoking cessation, and weight-loss assistance. Researchers inputted fake patient data into the apps over a six-month period. These were then tracked to check for security features and compared the findings with associated privacy policies. For the full article click here 

from health IT caucus http://ift.tt/1KJYXIf
via IFTTT