If you remember well, few years back mobile malware was considered a new and unlikely threat. However, most mobile users were considered as immune. Fast forwarding to 2017, more than 1.5 million new incidents of mobile malware have been detected. Unfortunately, day in day out mobile devices are coming under increasing attack where no single person is immune. Moreover, a quarter of respondents didn’t even know whether they have experienced an attack.
“Nearly all (94 percent) expected the frequency of mobile attacks to increase, and 79 percent acknowledged that it’s becoming more difficult to secure mobile devices.”
In case, if they knew in prior, many security issues can be immediately resolved through a few simple precautions. And don’t ever think that just because you haven’t become a prey to a hacker, you could never be. Much like technology, even these professionals are becoming smarter and smarter, day by day. Mobile users need to become aware of the risks posed to their personal and professional data.
In the following post, I would like to mention a few ways through which hackers tend to catch their prey.
Loss and theft, your mobile falling into the wrong hands can be considered among the biggest threats to mobile devices. Another threat is communications especially the ones that are not secure. Moreover, vulnerable development frameworks, using app stores that aren’t mush secured could be considered as another risk.
Financial accounts are the primary target of hackers, they see your mobile data as a route towards financial accounts. The distribution and execution of malware is one way through which they attempt to access your data. Another method is social engineering. Using Wi-Fi networks to access data is yet another method.
Apart from this, common SMS attacks involve scams and phishing. Such SMS attacks lure users into giving their confidential information involving their financial accounts. Many individuals have fallen prey to such SMS attacks. Many of these users would not have ended up as victims if they were more knowledgeable about such attacks – if they were, they would’ve immediately noticed something fishy in the SMS.
So what can be done?
Considering a reliable mobile app development company is the best precaution to take into account in order to avoid being a victim of hackers. Next, you can think of doing is enabling PIN or password for accessing your device. One should also make use of security and malware program for running scans on a regular basis. Lastly, in the event of your mobile device getting lost or stolen, don’t forget to alert the police as well as your service provider.
