Published Wednesday, June 22, 2011 12:55 AM by Talia James

CBS News TechTalk just published an article questioning the security of smartphone passcodes. Patrik Runald of Websense warns about the serious implications of an unlocked phone in the wrong hands, as smartphones frequently have a massive amount of personal or even corporate information stored on them.

"Just think about the information you have stored on your phone and what would happen if that information came into the wrong hands… Your emails, your contacts, your calendar, your notes... You might have Twitter and Facebook set to auto-login and now the thief can post public messages in your name." -- Patrik Runald, senior manager of security research at Websense

A 20-year-old NYU student is also noted for a recently completed research project on the most common smartphone passcodes. Nearly 10 percent of passcodes in his research sample were one of five common combinations: 1234, 0000, 2580, 1111 and 5555.

Bottom line: don’t make your PIN something easy to remember or guess. It might seem obvious, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. Proper passcodes are just the first step in smartphone security, but one you absolutely must get right.

For more information from the Websense Security Labs click here. Read more about securing company mobile devices here.