Lookout Mobile hooks up with Deutsche Telekom to protect European phones

Europe mobile phones are getting a boost of safety today, as mobile security company Lookout Mobile partners with Deutsche Telekom to armor all mobile phones under the carrier with mobile malware protection.

Lookout Mobile refers to itself as a “device health” service, providing smartphone users tools to scan for malware, as well as a network of researchers finding new threats in the mobile wild. Hackers are constantly moving from one profitable platform to the next in search of the biggest payloads: be that code, personally identifiable information, or any other number of data points that can bring them fame or money. As smartphones become much more common around the world, hackers are turning to these devices as the next battlefield.

Lookout’s new partnership with Deutsche Telekom is a strategic one, helping Lookout further expand outside of the United States. Deutsche Telekom senior vice president Heikki Makijarvi explained that the German telecommunications company is worried about cyber criminals attacking its millions of customers around the continent.

The company is rightfully scared.

Malicious applications, infected advertisements, phones becoming botnets, SMS fraud, and a number of other types of attacks have been identified in the last year alone. Indeed, Lookout says in 2011 it identified over 1,000 of these threats. Other issues, such as lost devices that carry sensitive information, are also on top of mind.

Lookout recently got creative with one of its lost phone solutions, implementing a “scream until you find it technique.” Yup, you can command your phone to make a loud, screeching noise until you can locate it. Thankfully, due to the GPS system, you also have a digital map to aid your search.

German flag image via Shutterstock, Photoshop work by Tom Cheredar