NIATEC
Submitted Article
October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month, and this week (Oct. 7-13) has been set aside for focusing specifically on mobile security. Mobile security includes the protection of mobile devices such as cell phones, tablets and laptops from malicious material.
As students, we use our mobile devices for everything from staying in touch on Facebook and Twitter to texting and checking our bank accounts and email addresses online. Some of us even use them to make phone calls from time to time.
As such, it is imperative that we are aware of not only some of the types of attacks hackers may use against our devices, but also a few ways to help protect these devices from attacks.
A recent report from Symantec, a security organization commonly known for its product Norton Antivirus, stated that while more and more of us are going mobile, only half are taking basic security steps on our devices. This includes taking preventative measures such as installing security software, setting passwords or backing up the data on our devices.
Part of the reason for this is that many individuals do not know where to begin when it comes to being secure. Many individuals may also neglect to implement security measures because they simply do not know what types of mobile incidents to which they are vulnerable.
One example of mobile hacking is known as “bluebugging.” Bluebugging occurs when a hacker sits in a public location and connects to someone else’s mobile device nearby via Bluetooth. The hacker then uses this device to make phone calls to a pay-per-minute phone number that he or she has previously set up. The victim does not know that this has happened until after he/she discovers the charges on his/her call log or phone bill.
While frightening to think that this can occur, it is important to remember that these types of situations are preventable. An extremely simple method to protect against an attack such as bluebugging is to turn off the device’s Bluetooth feature when it is not being used.
If you need to have your Bluetooth turned on for something such as the use of a wireless earpiece, you can change the Bluetooth setting under the device’s options menu to make your device non-discoverable. By taking these simple steps, you have effectively reduced your chances of being a victim of this type of cybercrime.
Another popular method of attack occurs through how we connect to the Internet. Connecting to the local coffee shop’s Wi-Fi might save your data plan, but it also opens you up to being attacked. Hackers can easily snoop in on your communications, taking over your Facebook account, reading your email and stealing your bank information.
The majority of users will connect to any open Wi-Fi network; however, although the network name could look legitimate, they could actually be connecting directly to their attacker’s network.
This allows the hacker to see everything you do on the Internet and perhaps even download malware onto your device.
An easy way to help protect from public Wi-Fi issues is to avoid sending personal information over public networks.
It is generally fine to do things such as surf Amazon.com or some other similar website; however, it is best to avoid logging into any accounts that may have personal information (i.e., address, credit card number, name, etc.) such as email and bank accounts. Logging into these types of accounts is best reserved for password protected access points.
A third, and final, method of mobile hacking is through the use of mobile apps. Apps are some of our favorite items on our devices. An online publication reported earlier this month that the number of malicious apps has risen dramatically in recent years. By downloading them, you are allowing hackers to do basically anything on your device: send and receive text messages, make calls and even access other apps.
A great way to help protect against these types of apps is to only download mobile applications from trusted sources such as Google Play, Amazon, Apple’s App Store and others. While these types of sources are not a catch-all for protecting against malicious apps, they are definitely a good start.
In addition, installing security applications such as Avast, Norton Mobile Anti-virus, etc., will help prevent your device from becoming infected by malicious apps.
Many mobile security programs will also allow you to back up your information, remotely wipe the device if it is lost or stolen, and/or find your device by using the phone’s built-in GPS. This would help to prevent your data from falling into the wrong hands.
Sure, implementing security on your mobile device might be slightly more time consuming.
However, this tradeoff is negligible compared to the costs that could come with being insecure. As such, everyone should take the few easy steps outlined in this article to become a little more secure with their mobile devices.
As with anything, awareness of the issue is the first step to making a difference. Please share this article with friends and family to help them become more secure as well. For more information on National Cyber Security Awareness Month visit www.isu.edu/security.
