80% of the world population owns a mobile phone today and out of the 5 billion mobile phones in the world, 1.08 billion are smartphones. One interesting statistic is that Singapore has the largest percentage of smartphone penetration at 54%. With such abundant usage of smart devices leading to storage and transfer of massive amounts of (often critical) information through them, the perennial question of security remains vital. This article is an attempt to cover the simple steps a common smartphone user can take to maintain basic mobile security hygiene.
1. Lock your device: Today, all smartphones come with a feature that gives the user the ability to lock his/her screen, so that some form of authentication would be required to get to the home screen of the phone after few minutes of inactivity. There are a number of mechanisms which make this feature convenient to use- for instance, a user can set up a traditional password or passcode, create a visual pattern which has to be replicated to unlock the screen, or even use the front facing camera of the phone to recognize the persons face as a key to unlock the device. These locks can even go a step further in terms of functionality- the iPhone has a feature which will erase all data on the phone in the case of ten failed login attempts, while Android has a built-in feature to encrypt the data stored in your device.
2. Don’t trust (all) Apps: Before downloading an app, check the permissions required for it to be installed. A board game app should not need access to text messaging, so if you see any apps requiring access to something it shouldn’t need, take the safer route and avoid installing it. Apps can push updates requesting more permissions at a later time as well, so don’t enable the automatically allow updates feature in your phone and monitor each update before applying it to the app. Furthermore, as far as possible, only install apps from vendors you trust. You can search for reviews of the app online for any reports of malicious activity involving it.
3. Install security software: There are tons of mobile security apps from popular vendors that can be installed to enhance the protection of your smartphone. These apps not only provide traditional anti-virus and anti-malware software but also come with features like remote data wiping and phone tracking in case your device gets stolen. Be sure to install one, if not more, such apps to give you more control over the governance of information in your device.
4. Be smart about it:
a) Always keep your device up to date with the latest firmware updates.
b) As is the case with any valuable item, don’t leave your phone unattended (even if it is locked).
c) Text messaging spam is a big source of attacks on mobile phones, so be very suspicious when you get a text message which looks unusual (even if it is from a known sender), as these can be as dangerous as malicious emails.
d) Always backup your phone data. In the case that your device gets compromised and data stored on it is deleted, at least you have a copy to restore back.
e) Only enable Bluetooth when needed. This step will close one route in for potential attackers and also extend your phone’s battery life.
f) Lastly, never ever conduct any financial or critical transactions over public (untrusted) Wifi networks.
These steps won’t guarantee the security of your smartphone but will at least mitigate any risks. Take some time out of your schedule to follow these steps. After all, it is your digital life- your photos, videos, emails and identity- that is at stake.