Dallas residents now have a new tool to protect their mobile devices from threats, just in time for the holiday shopping season. In partnership with Dallas-based Zimperium, the City of Dallas has announced the launch and public availability of “Dallas Secure,” a free mobile security application for Apple iOS and Android platforms. The app will help protect Dallas County residents and visitors from the growing number of cybersecurity threats targeting the immense amount of data and information people house on their mobile devices through financial, health, business, shopping and messaging apps, and so much more.
“As we continue our efforts to bridge the digital divide by ensuring internet access for all, we also have a responsibility to make sure that doing so does not create unnecessary threats to people’s security”
“Public safety comes first in Dallas — and cybersecurity is a form of public safety,” said Mayor Eric Johnson. “It is critical for our residents and for businesses to remain vigilant about their online safety in a 21st century economy. We must work collaboratively to ensure that Dallas is on the cutting edge when it comes to stopping cybersecurity threats.”
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“The City of Dallas is becoming a leader in closing gaps in digital inequities in the community,” said Genesis Gavino, Chief of Staff, City of Dallas. “This app will help inform our residents about cybersecurity in a way that makes it easy to understand, which will empower them to take steps to protect their digital privacy.”
Dallas Secure was developed by Dallas-based Zimperium, a leader in mobile security, and is designed to secure devices against even the most advanced threats.
“It’s important, especially during this time of the year, to protect mobile devices from outside threats,” said Councilmember Omar Narvaez. “I am excited that the City of Dallas is taking the necessary steps to empower residents to keep their devices safe.”
Dallas Secure equips residents’ mobile devices with the technology needed to automatically analyze threats while operating under a strict privacy policy and layers of technical controls that ensure user privacy is respected. The app works without accessing any personally identifiable information and will not collect or transmit any private data.
The Gift of Mobile Security This Holiday Season
More than half of all web traffic in the United States currently originates from mobile devices and smartphones have become an integral part of day-to-day life. For example, shoppers in the U.S. spent more than $359 billion through retail mobile-commerce purchases in 2021, up more than 15% year over year. By 2025, retail m-commerce sales could more than double to $728 billion, accounting for 44.2% of retail sales. This creates an increasingly valuable target for attackers and cyber criminals.
Dallas Secure provides users with immediate protection against new and evolving threats on their mobile devices. It will protect against text messages falsely promising holiday deals and coupons, malicious Wi-Fi networks tricking holiday travelers with the promise of a free internet connection, rogue QR codes deceitfully placed by bad actors, or numerous other tricks and techniques. After the application is downloaded and installed, it alerts a device user to threats in real time and offers information on what to do about those threats. This helps stop attackers from gaining access to data stored or processed on a device, such as personal credit card numbers or sensitive information from a corporation, government or other entity a device owner works for or with.
“Digital safety is now a public safety issue. We all have so much personal and business-related information on our mobile devices, making them rich targets for hackers. And many people can’t or don’t update their operating systems to keep up with the evolving threats, making them inherently insecure,” said Shridhar Mittal, CEO, Zimperium. “Being able to keep the residents of our hometown safe from mobile threats makes this a special project for Zimperium, and we’re extremely proud to be part of such a forward-looking city that clearly understands and cares about the wellbeing of its citizens – both online and off.”
Zimperium protects millions of users every day, and Zimperium’s solution detects threats on the device itself, without the delays and privacy implications of cloud-based lookups. This ability is a critical requirement for a privacy-first solution like Dallas Secure. Zimperium is also the only provider with proven, scalable and privacy-protecting Dallas Secure-like implementations.
The development of Dallas Secure demonstrates the City’s continued commitment to bridging the digital divide in Dallas. In 2020, the City’s Broadband and Digital Equity Strategic Plan was developed in collaboration with Dallas Independent School District. It identifies specific ways the City of Dallas can bridge the digital divide through infrastructure investments, public-private partnerships, and programming.
“As we continue our efforts to bridge the digital divide by ensuring internet access for all, we also have a responsibility to make sure that doing so does not create unnecessary threats to people’s security,” said City of Dallas Councilmember Jaime Resendez. “This app will go a long way towards protecting our residents.”
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