Twitter has acquired mobile security firm Whisper Systems, which provides security and management solutions that enable consumer phones and tablets to work as enterprise devices.

Much of Whisper Systems? focus is on mobile device security and data scrambling on the Android operating system, suggesting Twitter may be looking for deeper integration with Android. One of its offerings, RedPhone, was reportedly used by people in Arab countries during the uprisings there earlier this year as a way to protect their mobile phone conversations.

?Security is becoming more vital as people increasingly access social sites from mobile devices on the go,? said Roman Yudkin, chief technology officer of Confident Technologies, Solana Beach, CA. ?Most people don?t have security software installed on their smartphones and tablets, they operate in insecure free public network environments, and they are more likely to fall victim to phishing scams and leave applications persistently logged-in on mobile devices than on traditional PCs.

?It?s excellent that Twitter is taking this important step to improve security for mobile users, but as they do so, they will need to make sure they balance security and usability or users will try to circumvent the security measures put in place,? he said. ?Ubiquitous and usable security designed for the user on-the-go will be critical.

?As Twitter and other companies build out their mobile platforms and mobile applications, I?m sure we?ll continue to see more investments made in mobile security in order to better protect users and their data."

Security issues grow
Social networking is a popular and quickly growing mobile activity, according to a recent report from comScore. While Facebook is the leader here, Twitter?s mobile audience reached a total of 13.4 million people, growing 75 percent in the past year.

Mobile users access social networks via mobile browsers as well as dedicated applications.

Security and privacy are concerns for Twitter just as they are for any other company in the mobile space.

Mobile malware growth in 2011 is on target to exceed last year?s and become the busiest year ever for mobile malware, according to a recent report from McAfee.

Mobile is attractive to cyber criminals since most mobile users do not install anti-spy or anti-virus solutions, making it relatively easy to harvest online account information and personal data. 

Android is big focus for these attacks. The amount of malware targeted at Android devices jumped nearly 37 percent in the third quarter compared with previous quarter, with nearly all new mobile malware in the third quarter targeted at Android, according to a report from McAfee Labs.

QR codes are also attracting cyber criminals, with Kaspersky Labs recently reporting the appearance of the first malware delivered via QR code.

Security as differentiator
While there have many reports about the security issues brands and marketers face in mobile, only a few companies have taken steps to protect themselves. 

One of Whisper Systems? offerings is RedPhone, which provides end-to-end encryption for your calls, securing your conversations so that nobody can listen in. Another, Flashback, stores encrypted device backups in the cloud.

These two services will be interrupted during as the company transitions to Twitter.

WhisperCore integrates with the underlying Android OS to provide full disk encryption, network security tools, encrypted backup, selective permissions and basic platform management tools for Nexus S and Nexus One phones.

"We see many attacks on and via social networks, while we've also been experiencing a very serious upsurge in mobile malware,? said Roel Schouwenberg, senior researcher at Kaspersky Labs, Woburn, MA. ?At the same time it's easier for people to fall victim to phishing and social engineering attacks on mobile devices.

?So it's not hard to see why security is important on mobile devices -- and it will only become more important moving forward as mobile threats evolve,? he said. ?As such, security will definitely be a differentiator.?

Final Take
Chantal Tode is associate editor on Mobile Marketer, New York