'Crime-proof' mobile phone competition launched

The Design Council, the Home Office and the Technology Strategy Board are launching a competition to develop new ways to secure mobile phones against thieves and fraudsters.

The Mobile Phone Security Challenge is offering a total of £400 000 to teams of designers and technology experts to spend six months developing designs and working up prototypes.

According to a recent survey by data protection expert Credant Technologies, 80 per cent of mobile phone users in the UK store data on their phones that could be used to steal their identities.

The threat of crime is likely to increase as m-commerce (transactions through mobiles) becomes more widespread in the UK. See all stories on this topic