By John Bennett and Mark K. Mellis, CISM
The news that Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’ mobile phone was most likely hacked by the Saudi Arabian government is a sobering reminder of the security vulnerabilities of the mobile devices we depend on every day. If Bezos, who has access to some of the top security experts in the world, could be hacked, is there hope for the rest of us?
Yes, there is hope, if you consider that mobile security best practices can help protect you from the most common types of mobile security threats—the kind that your devices are most likely to be exposed to, assuming that you haven’t personally been deemed a high-value target by a major nation-state.
In the “Protect Your Mobile Phone” section of Safety Net, our ebook on IT security, we present some basic guidelines for keeping your mobile phone safe.
Here’s a more thorough list of tips for anyone interested in applying even more rigorous security to their mobile phone.
Update the apps and operating systems on your mobile devices.
As Safety Net points out, most security attacks take advantage of vulnerabilities that have already been fixed in software updates. But you can’t take advantage of those fixes if you don’t apply the updates.Encrypt your mobile device.
iPhone and iPads are encrypted automatically, as are Google Pixel phones and some models of Google Nexus devices. If you have some other kind of Android mobile device, check your device’s documentation to learn if it automatically encrypts its data and how to turn on encryption if it doesn’t.Turn on “Find My iPhone” or an equivalent service.
Millions of smartphones are stolen every year. Services like “Find My iPhone” allow you to track down lost or stolen devices, to remotely wipe all the data off of them, and to prevent thieves from taking them over as their own.Put a label on the outside of the device with your name and contact information.
This will allow a Good Samaritan to get it back to you even if the battery is dead when they find it. It also helps if you inadvertently leave it at an airport security checkpoint or on the counter at your favorite coffee house. “Will Ms. Smith please return to the Concourse C Security Checkpoint for a lost belonging?"Never plug your device into a public charger.
Use your own charger or bring an external battery along. The charging cable makes a data connection as well as a power connection and can be used to steal your data or load malware onto your device. Hackers can even create custom charging cables that can be used to load malware onto your device.Make sure rental cars “forget” your contacts.
If you pair your device with your rental car when traveling so that you can use hands-free calling or blast your music through the vehicle’s speakers, make sure you tell the car to “forget” the phone when you return the car to the rental agency. Otherwise you may unintentionally leave a copy of all your contacts in the car radio.Make cloud backups.
Back up your mobile device or synchronize it with a cloud service like iCloud, so that if you should lose it or have it stolen, you won’t lose your contacts or photos.Set your screen to lock automatically after a short period of time.
Thirty seconds, two minutes, whatever – you get to pick based on how you use your device. But do set a timeout for some period of time, or you’ll leave your device vulnerable to whoever finds it. Setting a timeout also helps your battery keep its charge.Only download apps from trusted sources: the official app store for your device.
This is easier to do on Apple devices, because you have to work hard to load an app from anywhere other than the Apple App Store. On Android devices, it’s easier to download apps from unreliable app stores. Some of the most dangerous mobile apps –apps that pretend to be just a game or a financial services app but that secretly steal your data – are distributed primarily through third-party, “off-brand” apps stores. Stick to official app stores, and you’ll be much safer.Don’t “jailbreak” your device.
Jailbreaking means breaking the manufacturer’s operating system on a device, so that the operating system (such as iOS or Android) can be replaced or altered. Sometimes smartphone users jailbreak devices to run apps not approved by the manufacturer’s app store. But this is incredibly risky: you’re disabling all the technical expertise that the manufacturer has invested in keeping your device safe. You might be tempted to jailbreak your device to get a particular game or app. Resist the temptation. No app or game is worth losing your personal data and possibly becoming a victim to identity theft.
The recent 10-year anniversary of the iPad reminds us how important mobile devices have become in our lives. Follow the tips listed above to keep your devices safe.
Photo credit: JÉSHOOTS