Today everyone has a cell phone and almost everyone has a smartphone, or a touchscreen phone that connects to the internet and can be used almost like a computer via applications. Those who have a smartphone phone use it all day by checking emails, playing games, writing on Facebook, taking photos, chatting and surfing the internet.
What we forget is that any device that connects to the internet becomes necessarily vulnerable to external intrusions and security risks.
A smartphone phone like the iPhone or the Samsung Galaxy S3 can contain a lot of sensitive information about the owner.
The security risks of a mobile phone come mainly from:
1) SMS : When you receive spam SMS containing links to click, you are faced with a clear case of Phishing identical to the one with which you try to deceive as many people as possible through Email.
SMS scams are those that ask, with any excuse, to call a phone number to report private information to an automatic system.
In severe cases such attempts try to steal the password of the bank online account.
2) Theft or loss of the smartphone : a stolen or lost cell phone that is left in an unprotected state allows those who find it or steal it to read all their memory and access saved data which is often extremely private.
The same thing can happen if the phone is sold or given to another person or if it is thrown away.
If it were lost it would be really trouble, also because a thief or someone who finds the phone could easily take possession of the store passwords and of the Google, Facebook and e-mail accounts.
In any case, what you need to do and put the good old access PIN or, at least, the touch combination that is available on Android smartphones.
For security against theft and loss, it is advisable to install an application that is capable of tracking the smartphone or, at least, of blocking it remotely and erasing all the memory by destroying the data stored in it.
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3) Dangerous or poorly designed applications that transmit private data remotely.
Some applications are like viruses and the only way to avoid these risks is to not install these applications.
Generally, the apps on the official market stores are certified so they should not hide deceptions, especially if they have been present in the market for some time.
For each application in the Stores, be it Android or iTunes, there are the comments of users who have tried the application, so it becomes easy to understand if there are problems or not.
The risk of downloading dangerous applications is high especially for Android, because you can also find apps from alternative markets that are not Google Play.
4) Network attacks via Wifi or via Bluetooth .
With an Android smartphone, iPhone, Windows Phone or other less popular models, you can connect to the internet using the Wifi network and the free hotspots that are around.
The problem is that sometimes some free networks are traps set up by scammers who catch all the data that goes through that network, snorting the traffic.
If you find a free Wi-Fi internet connection in a public place that is not provided by a shop, a business, a hotel or a fast food restaurant, then it would be better to avoid logging in or, at least, avoid writing your login and password that can be intercepted.
Bluetooth can hardly be at risk however it is always better to keep it off when not in use.
5) Localization problems .
Thanks to wireless networks and GPS, it is possible to take advantage of services that take advantage of geolocation, recognizing where the phone is at any time.
To avoid being found, it would be good to disable localization in applications such as Facebook, Twitter or other social networks.
In summary, to avoid any security risk arising from the use of a mobile phone or smartphone, certain tips should be followed to protect yourself:
- Put the lock on the screen with a password or PIN.
- Delete all the data saved in the mobile phone or in the external memory card of the smartphone when it is disposed of or when it is transferred to another person.
- Install the applications only from the official store or, in any case, always check the comments and reviews.
- Don't Jailbreak your iPhone or Android root unless you are experienced enough to know what this means.
The advantages of unlocking an iPhone or an Android mobile phone are many for those who enjoy hacking around with the system and installing different applications, but this process also opens a door to viruses, malware and malicious apps.
- Avoid connecting to unsafe public wireless networks.
- Installing security software is still recommended.
READ ALSO: Best free security apps for Android.
The source of this article is ENISA, the European Network and Information Security Agency which has published a security report on smartphones that can be downloaded in PDF (in English) from this page.
