With the rise of the internet, daily life has become far less stressful than what it used to be back in previous decades. Things have become much easier and faster. On the other hand, the lives that we live in right now would malfunction if there were even a single day that saw the absence of the internet. The internet has made it possible to create a virtual web through which we can stay connected 24/7. This level of connectivity has both its positives and negatives. The positive aspect is seamless connectivity and the negative aspect being an open book of the world’s information. Mobile devices play a big role in the rise of the internet. Unfortunately, mobile devices have become a great target for hackers, thus protective measures must be taken in order to keep your mobile’s data secure. In this article, we are going to discuss mobile device protection in detail.
Why will hackers target your mobile device?
The gadget that you use the most and which stays with you all the time is your mobile device. With the progress of technology, every essential work of yours has shifted from your computer to your mobile device. It holds all the valuable information about you, like your bank details, your credentials, address, current location, to name a few. It is the biggest reason why hackers target your mobile device.
Are mobile devices safe from hackers?
Securing the information is a three-way process. First of all, the mobile hardware and software manufacturers take steps to ensure that the data within the devices are hard to reach. For this reason, security chips and encryption is used. Second of all, the individual app developers and companies much ensure that there are no leaks are present within the data transmission from the apps to the servers. Third of all, you need to take care of a few things to keep your data protected. Further discussion on the contribution of each towards fortifying your mobile is discussed below.
Mobile manufacturer’s contribution
The mobile manufacturers have access to different ways in which they can fortify the security of their device. The best possible way is to use security chips. Security chips like the Titan M, which is present on the Google Pixel 3 and its successor, are chips that store passwords, facial recognition data, fingerprint data, and personal information. Other than that, they also use different techniques to make it harder to access the memory of the device by taking it apart.
The most significant involvement in the mobile security genre is from software manufacturers.
The two biggest operating systems available out there for mobile devices right now are Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android. Android has a mandatory encryption system built into the device. This means you cannot decrypt your device unless you enter your password. The advantage of this is that if a hacker got physical access to your device, he would not be able to dig into your data in any way. IOS has its own unique encryption process using which it encrypts data in apple devices.
Hackers can get access to the devices without having physical possession of the device. They do this using different loopholes present within the operating system. The hackers also try using different malware and viruses. To secure the Android operating system, Google releases security patches every month. In these security patches, they fix those potentially threatening loopholes. It should be a mandate for the mobile manufacturers to push these updates via OTA (Over the Air) to every device.
Both Android and iOS, with their significant upgrades, bring in protection against different sorts of malware that can enter the device through apps, photos, emails, files, etc.
App developer’s contribution
Mobile devices are increasingly used for banking transactions and also to make and receive payments. All these activities are possible through the use of different apps provided and developed by the companies. First of all, they use a two or three-factor authentication process to figure out the identity of the user. All the information is saved on the servers, which are operated by the companies. Hence it is tough to hack those accounts. The connection between the apps and their servers is protected by two-way encryption. It means that the data being transferred cannot be deciphered without the proper decryption key.
Your contribution
There are some things that you should keep in mind to better secure your mobile device.
- First and foremost, use pins and passwords that are complex: You should not use passwords that are too common in nature, for example, your date of birth or your spouse’s name. It will make it easy for hackers to hack into your accounts.
- Use a VPN: A VPN is a virtual private network. It secures all the data that is being transmitted to and from your mobile device. The benefit of using this is that it adds another layer of encryption on the data, making it even harder for hackers to access your data.
- Download and use apps from verified sources: you should always download apps from the Google play store or the Apple app store. These stores have their security checkpoint through which the apps need to pass before they are listed on the store. Even then, you should check the download count and comments before downloading the apps.
- Download files with caution: you should download files from trusted websites only. Furthermore, you should check if the webpage is trying to download other files without your knowledge.
- Think twice before giving permissions to apps: you should accurately judge before giving apps location, calls, and storage permissions. Hackers can use these permissions to hack into your information.
If you want full protection for your business’s mobile devices, you should get in touch with us. We, at Inteck IT, not only take pride in our attentiveness to mobile security but also offer IT support and IT security for all your electronic devices. Give us a call at 1300 39 65 65 or email us at support@inteckit.com.au. When you’re protected by Inteck IT, the next time the question arises in your mind, ‘Is my mobile device protected from hackers?’, you can be assured that it is.