The Next Big Thing in Secure Mobility
Many organizations allow employees to work remotely, which mostly entails using mobile devices to access corporate networks, which is good. Undoubtedly, mobile technologies enhance productivity, facilitate remote working strategies, allow communication, and boosts innovation. However, they also introduce many security risks due to an expanded mobile attack surface. In 2021 alone, numerous companies suffered mobile malware attacks, with 93% originating from devices connected to the network.
In addition, malicious mobile applications have grown rapidly due to the increased reliance on mobile smartphones used to enhance mobility. Bring Your Own Device Policies (BYOD) have encouraged users to use their mobile devices for work-related purposes. But hackers have also stepped up attacks targeting these devices because employees are likely to install malicious apps. As a result, a worrying 46% of organizations experienced a cybersecurity scare, with the top mobile malware including malware droppers, banking Trojans, clickers, and mobile remote access Trojans.
Hidden Security threats in Your Remote Devices Will Shock You
Our mobile devices are usually an arm's length away, yet few users are wise to the threats of using them daily. Cybersecurity experts attribute 60% of digital fraud to mobile devices, including stolen passwords and phishing scams. Using smartphones and other mobile devices for critical business activities like financial transactions means security is more crucial than ever before. The more users depend on mobile phones for daily activities, the bigger the consequences if they are compromised. That is one of the reasons why employees should avoid storing sensitive business or customer information on insecure smartphones.
Fortunately, staying informed and deploying the necessary security precautions is a sure way of achieving robust mobile security. That said, it is crucial to understand the hidden and biggest cyber risks to mobile security, which include but are limited to:
- Malicious Applications
You are probably right if you think certain mobile applications are too good to be true. For example, have you heard of the Trojan House Trick? It is a strategy where cybercriminals create an app that promises some benefits, such as free access to a costly thing while it contains malware. Users that take the bait often expose their smartphones, computers, and networks to data exfiltration risks and other threats. Such applications may transfer funds and other sensitive information to a hacker's device in some cases. - Spyware
Some mobile applications promise to monitor your business's or family's activities to increase convenience or productivity, while in reality, they are spyware apps disguised as monitoring apps. Spyware applications enable hackers to execute extreme invasive surveillance through a compromised smartphone. As a result, adversaries can secretly use spyware to listen to sensitive applications, track a user's location, read emails and text messages, take pictures, and record videos. Even applications that appear less insidious can cause irreparable harm by collecting large amounts of data. - Data Leakages
Do you read and understand the fine print when installing a new application? Almost every mobile app collects different types of data from your smartphone. The most commonly collected data include contact lists, call logs, message history, photos, and personally identifiable information. Therefore, how much activity is collected and stored on phone app servers is pretty scary. If malevolent cyber actors manage to hack the servers, or if they become vulnerable due to a technical issue, the data can be used to commit fraud. Hence, tightening the security of your mobile device to restrict the data collected by various applications is highly recommended. - Insecure Mobile Apps
Smartphones lacking strong security standards expose your data to many vulnerabilities, especially if your mobile apps lack strong encryption. Some app developers may implement weak encryption algorithms that can be broken easily or accidentally share digital tokens enabling impersonation and identity theft. Unfortunately, the average user can do little to determine apps with weak security or encryption protocols. Luckily, security firms like Kaymera can fully encrypt your phone chats, video calls, and messages to ensure you send everything.
Don't Worry. Secure Mobility Exists.
How can you stay safe while on the go? Mobile technology security threats can be complex and diverse, but you can still secure your devices. Secure mobility enables safe access to business data, applications, and information from any location using personal devices. In most cases, it only requires installing proven mobile security software and partnering with a trusted mobile security partner. At Kaymera, our experts have developed a fully encrypted smartphone that ensures 100% security of your data and applications. The phone design prioritizes privacy by preventing attacks and breaches that can harm your business and protecting your files, messages, voice calls, and location. In addition, Kaymera's unique security features protect your data and identity.
At the same time, you can install our Kaymera Secure Communications app on any regular smartphone to ensure security chats and calls. In particular, the Kaymera app encrypts voice calls and chats to ensure a secure channel for exchanging data and vital communications. Furthermore, the Kaymera app allows you to send and say anything securely, thus providing your business with strong digital protection against modern mobile security threats and risks. More importantly, the Kaymera app does not store any user data on our servers, making it impossible for hackers to compromise and misuse our customers' data. Therefore, the Kaymera Secure Communications app secures your smartphone by default, keeping your private communications and data privacy.
Additional best practices for ensuring well-rounded smartphone security include:
- Remote access and control: There is always the possibility that your phone may be stolen or end up in the wrong hands. Enabling remote access and control features can assist in wiping the phone clean remotely to ensure that no one can access sensitive data and communications stored in the phone.
- Enable strong authentication: Restricting unauthorized access to your phone's data, contacts, or messages requires strong authentication. You must ensure that authentication protocols, such as passwords and biometrics, are always on to prevent unauthorized access.
- Avoid public networks: You should only connect to trusted Wi-Fi networks when accessing the internet. Hackers may compromise a public Wi-Fi and intercept data and communications shared through the network, including passwords, credit card data, private messages, and video calls.
