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LogoutFor last fifteen years, the world of mobile technology through rapid innovations and availability has made digital revolution reach the areas that were not even in the horizon back then. Mobile devices are now your office, your mode of entertainment, source of news and your key to the world of information you may require in your daily life. Organizations and institutions, both public and private, have been pushing the connectivity, making the service more popular and affordable, to increase their reach and productivity.
But with every noble push, comes opportunity to negate it. More endpoints have been left vulnerable for the cyber criminals to be exploited, and the security teams of organizations and the field experts have found their job getting more complex on a regular basis.
The most popular and recent threats to cybersecurity regarding mobile devices can be broadly classified into four categories:
- Application based threats: These arise mainly because of installation of shady mobile applications that can work as spyware and leak the user’s data to various organizations that are willing to pay for such sensitive information to be exploited in various ways.
They can be in a mix of various social engineering threats such as phishing, vishing, and malware attacks. A study by “Verizon” found an increase of about 40 percent in such attacks in recent years. - Website and public network-based threats: Visiting compromised websites that lure customers based on profiling or lifestyle choices often leads to malicious and harmful content finding its way into your device.
Similarly, use of unsecured and public Wi-Fi systems may also leave your mobile device vulnerable to various types of attacks if the devices are not protected properly. The lack of proper encryption and the gaps can be exploited by the cybercriminals looking for any opportunity. - Physical Threats: Theft of mobile devices with important and personal information comes up with its own set of dangers. While usual thieves might be looking it for an easy and quick cash-grab, sophisticated criminals are always in search of such opportunities where they can get much more critical as well as valuable information in return of meagre cash.
With a plethora of threats available, the answer for defense must be more strategic than the usual remedy. It can range from simple and cautious use of public network to installation of appropriate software. Let’s have a look at such remedies:
- Promoting the norm of must end-to-end encryption:
All the service providers and users must be made to follow secured encryption norms that prevent leakage of information from both ends. - Use of dedicates security apps:
The dedicated security apps and their use should be promoted to prevent any possible attack from spywares, especially devices that are used to store important work-related data. - Quick and simple reporting of lost devices:
Companies and organizations should popularize helpline numbers for reporting of stolen devices and design simpler ways for backup and erasing of important data from the same. - Updating your mobile and applications regularly:
The security operations of the devices and the platforms are evolving in nature and the gaps and threats must be regularly identified and patched up. Mobile Software companies authorize the update exercises based on these very exercises and the users should be updated with the latest version of the same. - Increase awareness:
Prevention is always better than cure. Mobile users in general and employees of the organizations using the devices must be made aware of every possible attack that may occur due to negligence, from social engineering threats to unauthorized websites and applications that may find a place in the device and act as a malware or spyware. Users should be provided with list of authorized applications, that come up with features that prevent any virus or another attack.