A Secure Smartphone, Thanks to John Hering

Each day, thousands of people each download several apps from mobile app stores, without having to concern themselves with security. Screens are soon filled with dozens of icons and quick links to Facebook and Twitter,  as well as other games, photo apps and music. Unbeknownst to them, however, is the possibility that these downloads contain Trojan horses, viruses, or other malicious malware – any of which can affect their phone’s performance. So what should they do to protect themselves?

There’s no better person to ask than John Hering. A self-confessed pre-teen computer hacker, Hering is famous for being able to extend the range of a Bluetooth-enabled device to 1.2 miles. But that’s not all he can do. Hailed as one of the best young tech entrepreneurs by Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Hering is the co-founder and CEO of Lookout, a cloud-based smartphone security company. They not only develop security software to counter malicious software, they also offer data backup and phone recovery services.

Many people say that Hering lives and breathes smartphone mobile security, and they’re right. Prior to Lookout, he ran a non-profit company called Unwire Iraq, which offered wireless networks to U.S. troops.  He also created Daily Wireless, which is an online news and information source.  But neither of those two outfits can be compared to either Hering’s third company or the story of how he started it.

Hering and his team started thinking about smartphone security long before anyone had even thought they were possible. Back in 2005, he did a study to determine which attendees of that year's Oscars had mobile phone infections. Through a software script, he was able to discover that over a hundred attendees were carrying unsafe phones. This feat provided valuable information about the vulnerability of smartphones. It was the best campaign that anyone could have possibly imagined. It also became a platform for the launch of their company.

Today, Hering is not only one of the best tech entrepreneurs, but one of the most lucrative as well.