Data Security: Most Finders of Lost Smartphones Are Snoops

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-03-08/data-security-most-finders-of-lost-smartphones-are-snoops

In early February, we “lost” 10 smartphones as part of a multi-city clandestine project to see what happens when digital devices go missing. Symantec organized Operation Honey Stick, named after fake websites known as honeypots that investigators use to snare hackers. A total of 50 smartphones were distributed in Silicon Valley, Washington, D.C., New York, Los Angeles, and Ottawa. The devices, loaded with a buffet of juicy, fake data, were left in restaurants, elevators, convenience stores, and student unions. Symantec equipped them with monitoring software that let its security gurus track where the devices were taken once found, and what type of information was accessed by the finders.