Security Threats and Opportunities; As mobile banking becomes more transactional, security threats will proliferate. But the phone might prove uniquely resilient.(Cover Story)

Byline: Michael Sisk

For the time being the mobile banking environment is fairly safe. That's not because mobile phones are secure, often they're not. Few people use passwords or install anti-virus software. Security experts say they're safe simply because cybercriminals have not yet seriously targeted phones for malware. But as more people adopt mobile banking and it becomes more transactional-not just checking balances and getting alerts-the threats are likely to mount quickly.

Jacob Jegher, a senior analyst at Celent, says criminals have not targeted mobile phones for the same reason they have bypassed Macs in favor of PCs. Criminals want to develop spyware for …