Once upon a time, the thought of a mobile phone being susceptible to a cyber-attack was unheard of.
In fact, phone hacking came under a much different umbrella – that has grabbed unwanted headlines in the media for several years.
The emergence of the smartphone has turned things on its head somewhat. Now, they are effectively mini-computers, and as such need to be treated like them.
Unfortunately, a lot of us still dismiss the cyber threats that are carried around in our pockets. Through today’s piece, we will now take a look at some of the ways you can safeguard yourself.
The perils of app privacy
Apps have been a Godsend in some regards, but in others, they are a cybersecurity nightmare. Many request access to your data and before long, you don’t know what is being accessed by which app.
It means that you have to be extra vigilant, although the steps required by both Google and Apple are slightly different.
For example, in the case of Android, Google does provide a lot of visibility on what apps have access to what features. You can find this out by opening your Settings menu, and navigating to Apps Notifications, and then App permissions. A simple toggle system allows you to turn off apps you think might be collecting more data than you would like.
With Apple, it’s a different setup. Again, by accessing the Settings menu and finding Privacy, you’ll see all of the different permissions that apps have access to.
As you’ll probably know by now, there is a fine line between denying all permission to apps and losing the functionality of them. However, for some information like your contacts, it’s worth asking if this is really required by the app in question.
Passwords: Even more important on a mobile device
While authentication methods might be changing, the whole passwords are still the main way in which we access our devices and software.
With a phone, the risks start to increase. You’re constantly on the move, and strangers are regularly seeing your phone screen and sometimes what you are typing.
It’s for this reason that password management software is almost a must in today’s day and age; they allow you to function without regularly typing in passwords (and even credit cards, like this one for Android).
Beware of public wi-fi
Finally, let’s talk about public wi-fi. This is one topic that could also apply to desktop computers, but it stands to reason that you’ll be using it more whilst on the move.
While it has its uses and is again a Godsend in some cases, it also has its risks. Data can be intercepted with surprising ease, and this means that you should be more wary than normal whenever conducting anything remotely private on your phone.
Even some of the so-called established wi-fi hotspots, run by big companies, can be risky and we would never recommend performing any personal transactions whilst connected to them (with banking being the obvious one).
