Mobile communications, resource management, privacy, security and regulations

What is the problem?
Mobile communications used to refer to telephony and SMS, both of which were provided by the telecommunications companies, with government access to records subject to strict legal controls.
With the expansion of mobile communications to include web browsing, gaming and other apps on smart phones, the scope for losing control of personal data has expanded exponentially. Social media is now a way of life for the majority of users and access to the Internet is regarded as a fundamental part of human rights by the UN.
This paper will explore:
- The multitude of different apps and the types of personal data they rely on to operate,
- How the app providers secure or share that data
- How much data is available, either publically or via court-ordered government interceptions
- Causes of historic breaches of security and the problems resulting in these breaches
- The potentially beneficial or harmful uses of this data by rival app providers, commercial organisations, government security forces and criminal/terrorist organisations
- The positive and negative impacts of changing the current regulations surrounding personal data