Security vendor Symantec has announced an update to its Mobile Security Suite that brings the security of Windows Mobile devices up to the level of PCs and laptops.

Version 5 uses a range of technologies to protect Windows Mobile devices, including antivirus, firewall, anti-SMS spam tools, and data encryption. Symantec said it would be offering an optional add-on called the Symantec Mobile VPN, which uses IPSec to access back-end corporate data.

Symantec will also integrate its network access control (NAC) system with users’ mobile devices, and verify that a device’s image and security applications have not been tampered with prior to allowing network access.

One driver for mobile security is the growing demand from users for services that allow them to use their devices to bank online. Mobile operator Vodafone this year launched a free service that lets its UK customers access their finances over the Monilink mobile banking network.

Mobile security has attracted increased attention since the recent Apple iPhone was launched in the US. The release prompted security fears that companies will have to secure poorly protected consumer devices.

AEP Networks’ chief operating officer, Reggie Best, said that Apple should implement full Java support within the iPhone browser. “This would allow mobile security vendors to sort out 95 percent of mobile security issues. We look at the iPhone as just another mobile device and we think that enterprises will want to secure remote across the board and not on a piecemeal basis” he argued.