The Most Important Security Threats of Recent Times for Smartphones

Phishing

Phishing is a type of attack in which attackers send you fake and fraudulent messages (e-mail, sms). With this method, cybercriminals try to convince you to share your personal information, click on malicious links, download malware on your device and run it unwittingly, or provide your account details for a bank, social network, email, and more.

Physical security

Most of us forget about an important security measure: Physically securing our mobile devices. Risk of theft can be reduced by using fingerprint, face scan, PIN code, pattern.

Annoying software, crypto mining

Your mobile devices are also at risk of malware that will force the device to make calls or send messages to some paid services. Nuisanceware is malware found in apps that causes your phone to move in an annoying way. Some apps can steal your device’s processing power without you noticing it to mine cryptocurrency..

Public wireless networks

Open and unsecured Wi-Fi hotspots are ubiquitous in everything from hotel rooms to coffee shops. Such wireless networks are offered as a customer service, but their open nature also makes them vulnerable to attack.

Surveillance, espionage and surveillance software

Spyware is often used by cyber attackers to steal important information, including personal information and financial details. However, surveillance software and tracking software are normally more personal and targeted; for example, in the case of domestic abuse, a partner can install surveillance software on your phone to track your contacts, phone calls, GPS location, and who and when you communicate with.

Ransomware

Ransomware can affect mobile devices as well as PCs. Ransomware encrypts files and directories, locks your phone, and demands payment via a blackmail landing page — usually in cryptocurrency. Cryptolocker and Koler can be cited as prime examples of these.

Trojans, malicious financial software

There are now many types of mobile malware on the market. The basic protections of Google and Apple neutralize many of them, but the trojan horse from the malware families is one of the most important ones you should pay attention to. Trojans are forms of malware developed with data theft and financial gains in mind. Mobile variants include bots such as EventBot, MaliBot and Drinik.

US network technology giant Cisco recently announced that there was a hacking incident through an employee. After the incident, Cisco took quick action.

Cisco confirmed through an employee shortly after a dark web post on Tuesday, August 10, when a Chinese ransomware gang hacked them and reported it would publish the files they leaked.

In a statement, the date of the attack was reported as May 24, while the Cisco team announced that they detected that an employee’s personal Google account was compromised, the password to log in to the Cisco extension corporate network registered in the compromised Google account was stolen and the system was accessed remotely via VPN.

The team noted that the threat actor, who bypassed binary authentication using voice phishing attacks and multi-factor authentication (MFA) bypass techniques, also solved the verification code stage that came to the user.

Ways to protect smartphones from security threats:

• Not clicking on links in emails or SMS unless you are 100% sure of their reliability.
• Locking the phone with a strong password or PIN.
• Downloading apps only from legitimate app stores and carefully evaluating what permissions they should have.
• Avoid using public Wi-Fi networks as much as possible and use mobile networks instead. If you need to connect, consider using a paid virtual private network (VPN).
• Use antivirus software and scan your device regularly. However in the case of spyware most of the time this is not enough. Therefore, it is useful to follow the unusual activities and processes on your device..
• Keep your phone up to date on installed apps.
• Uninstall an app you don’t use.