Dallas residents were offered a tool to protect their mobile devices from cyber threats, just in time for the holiday shopping season.

In partnership with Dallas-based Zimperium, the city of Dallas announced the launch and public availability of Dallas Secure, a free mobile security app for Apple iOS and Android platforms.

The app can help protect Dallas residents and visitors from the growing number of cyber-security threats targeting the immense amount of data and information people house on their mobile devices through financial, health, business, shopping and messaging apps.

“Public safety comes first in Dallas, and cyber security is a form of public safety,” said Dallas 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 cyber-security threats.”

Genesis Gavino, chief of staff for Dallas, added: “The city of Dallas is becoming a leader in closing gaps in digital inequities in the community. This app will help inform our residents about cyber security 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 local firm Zimperium, a specialist 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 council member 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 analyse threats automatically 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.

More than half of all web traffic in the USA originates from mobile devices, and smartphones have become an integral part of day-to-day life. For example, shoppers in the USA spent more than $359bn through retail mobile-commerce purchases in 2021, up more than 15% year over year. By 2025, retail mcommerce sales could more than double to $728bn, 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 wifi networks tricking holiday travellers with the promise of a free internet connection, rogue QR codes deceitfully placed by bad actors, or numerous other tricks and techniques.

After the app 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,” said Shridhar Mittal, CEO of Zimperium. “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. 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 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 option such as Dallas Secure.

The development of Dallas Secure demonstrates the city’s continued commitment to bridging the digital divide. In 2020, the city’s broadband and digital equity strategic plan was developed with Dallas Independent School District. It identifies specific ways the city 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 Dallas council member Jaime Resendez. “This app will go a long way towards protecting our residents.”