In today’s interconnected world, mobile devices have become an indispensable part of our lives. With the increasing use of smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices, the risk of cyberattacks has also risen dramatically. Hackers and cybercriminals are constantly looking for ways to exploit vulnerabilities in mobile devices and gain access to sensitive information. This makes mobile cybersecurity more important than ever before. In this article, we will explore 10 major cybersecurity tips for mobiles.
Common mobile security threats
Here are some of the common mobile security threats that individuals and organizations may face:
- One of the most prevalent cyber threats is phishing attacks, where cybercriminals use emails, text messages, or social media to trick users into disclosing their personal information.
- Malware is another significant threat, which can infect mobile devices through malicious apps, email attachments, or compromised websites, and can lead to data theft, identity theft, or financial loss.
- Network spoofing is a tactic where hackers create fake Wi-Fi networks to intercept sensitive information, and insecure mobile apps that may have vulnerabilities or malware hidden within them.
- There always looms a potential for data breaches and hacking attempts on corporate networks through mobile devices.
10 tips for mobile security
Here are 10 actions you must take to ensure that your mobile device is safe and not within the reach of cybercriminals.
- Always lock your phone when not in use and set up Touch ID or Facial Recognition, in addition to a unique PIN or pattern.
- Download apps only from official app stores and avoid third-party sites that may contain malware or spyware. Be wary of public charging stations as they can be used to install malware or access your phone’s data.
- Exercise caution when connecting to public Wi-Fi networks and use a VPN when accessing sensitive or financial information.
- Enable two-factor authentication for key accounts such as mobile banking and payment apps.
- Audit your apps to see what information they are accessing and be cautious about the permissions you grant them.
- Avoid opening email links from unfamiliar sources as phishing attacks are common and can infect your device with malware.
- Refrain from disclosing personal information such as name and mobile number to keep snoopers at bay.
- Back up your phone’s data regularly to ensure that data is not lost in the event of theft or damage.
- Always update your phone’s operating system when prompted to ensure that it is protected from security threats.
- Consider investing in mobile threat defense software to scan your phone for suspicious activity and provide managed restoration in the event of identity theft.
Which is the best security for a smartphone?
Below are some of the best security options available for smartphones to help you keep your device and the information stored on it safe and secure.
Bitdefender offers multi-layered protection that safeguards your digital assets, such as documents, pictures, and videos, from known and emerging cyber threats like malware and ransomware. It also blocks malicious websites that attempt to steal financial data and provides a VPN service that encrypts all Internet traffic to protect your privacy and online presence. With Bitdefender VPN, you can secure your bank information, passwords, and downloads from hackers when you connect to Wi-Fi.
Norton Mobile Security offers various features to ensure smartphone security, including web protection to detect and block access to malicious websites, device security to alert users of vulnerabilities and protect against cybercriminals, and Wi-Fi security to detect unsafe networks. The app also has an App Advisor that proactively protects against mobile threats, a Device Report Card to analyze scanned networks and apps, SMS security to filter out spam and phishing texts, and suspicious network detection to notify users of compromised networks.
McAfee Total Protection offers a combination of antivirus, privacy, and identity tools to defend against virus, malware, ransomware, and spyware attacks while protecting personal identity and privacy. A single subscription allows protection for up to five or ten devices including Windows PCs, Macs, tablets, and smartphones.
Acronis provides a unified protection solution that can protect all your data on various devices and platforms with more features at a lower cost than other options. It includes advanced anti-malware and reliable backup for complete protection and protects against all kinds of threats, including cyberattacks, device loss, and disk failure. The automatic mobile backup solution can backup data from your smartphone to your PC, NAS, or Mac as soon as you connect to your WiFi network.
7 properties of highly secured devices
Microsoft recommends that every connected device should possess these seven properties as a baseline for security.
- Hardware-based root of trust
In highly secure devices, a hardware-based root of trust is established to ensure that device secrets are securely protected. Hardware provides a secure foundation for sensitive operations and ensures that the device is not vulnerable to software-based attacks.
- Small, trusted computing base
To minimize the surface that is exposed to attackers and reduce the probability that a bug or feature can be used to circumvent security protections, highly secure devices have a small, trusted computing base (TCB). All the software and hardware used to create a secure environment for an operation is included in the TCB, which is kept as small as possible.
- Defense in depth
In highly secure devices, multiple mitigations are applied to each threat to ensure defense in depth. This is done to ensure that even if one layer of defense is compromised, there are still other layers in place to prevent attackers from gaining access to sensitive information or performing unauthorized actions.
- Compartmentalization
Compartments are protected by hardware-enforced boundaries to prevent a flaw or breach in one software compartment from propagating to other software compartments of the system. This ensures that even if one part of the system is compromised, other parts of the system remain secure.
- Certificate-based authentication
Certificates are a statement of identity and authorization that are signed with a secret private key and validated with a known public key. Unlike passwords or other authentication mechanisms that are based on shared secrets, certificates can’t be stolen, forged, or otherwise used to authenticate an impostor.
- Renewable security
Security threats evolve and attackers discover new attack vectors, so device security must be renewed regularly. Renewable security ensures that the device can adapt to new threats as they emerge.
- Failure reporting
When a failure occurs on these devices, a failure report is collected automatically and sent to a failure analysis system on time, enabling device manufacturers to stay informed about device failures experienced by their customers and respond to emerging attacks.
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