When the deadly strain of ransomware was released in May of 2017, the attack shocked even big multinationals. A few months after a deadly strain of smartphone ransomware started targeting individual phone users threatening to encrypt their info and selling it on the black market. As mobile phones become part and parcel of daily work, the emerging threats could pose a huge threat at the enterprise level.
Almost every employee remotely accesses company info from the mobile phone. This means that a lot of sensitive information can easily fall into the wrong hands through indirect attacks. Here are the top mobile security threats you need to know about and prevent at all cost.
Data leakage
Mobile data leakage is the most serious threats to your business. But what makes the issue worrying is that it is not reprehensible. Rather, it arises from the smartphone users making wrong decisions about the apps allowed to see the info. Whether it is the company management system or strategic planning secrets, your information is no doubt at great risk of leaking into the wrong hands.
The challenge with this threat is how to apply an app vetting procedure without overwhelming the admin and frustrating the phone users. Consider using advanced solutions such as Zimperium’s zIPS Protection and Symantec’s Endpoint Protection Mobile that help to scan installed apps for leaky behaviour. You should also consider using Data Loss Prevention tools that help prevent accidental exposure of sensitive data accidentally.
Social engineering
It is estimated that over 90% of data breaches occur as a result of phishing (Data Breach Investigations Report). While some tactics applied by social engineering cons might look simple, it is surprising to note that most of them are highly effective. The cybercriminals follow users carefully, study their habits, and release tricky emails that are very difficult to suspect.
Unlike in the past, staff and employees view multiple inboxes on their smartphones. As the line between workplace and personal communication blur, a message with malicious code is more likely to go unnoticed and, therefore, opened like a normal email.
You have to go an extra mile to train your staff to be extra vigilant with all the communication they handle on their smartphones. Go that extra mobile to train staff on mobile etiquette no matter whether they are handling personal or official communication.
Using outdated devices
The smartphones, standard phones, and smaller devices that connect to the network have given into a new type of risk; lack of timely software updates. With outdated operating systems, cybercriminals find it easy to break and steal the stored data. The problem is even more complicated when it comes to devices that are not created to receive regular updates.
At this point, the enterprise must take a proactive approach to ensure that employees have the right mobile phones. This should involve comprehensive reviews to pick the devices with top-notch security. Consider partnering with top mobile phone companies to provide the best phones at subsidized rates to all staff.
The final take
The mobile phone that your staff have and use to access enterprise info can be an easy target by cybercriminals targeting to gain entry into your system. It is, therefore, crucial to get involved in determining the mobile phones your staff use and help to define prudent phone behaviour.