Mobile Security

Mobile is one of the most useful thing we have now-a-days as well as mobile is the one thing which we use the most. Everyday tasks we perform on our mobile whether be doing calculations, making presentations, taking notes, we only use our mobile phones.

Mobile phones can simplify our life to a very different extent. Your every task to be done is just a touch away, it provides flexibility to our work and saves immense time.

Mayuresh Sharad Sananse

Why Is Mobile Security Important?

One thing we all mostly ignore is our mobile’s security. We do everything on our mobile but forget that what if the data in our mobile, files, personal information gets breached.

If anytime this happens then you will be left with nothing, all your identity will be in the hands of another person. That person can easily misuse that information, by stealing your personal information or data one can replicate you digitally. In simple terms your exact digital clone can be created.

Surely mobile is the most used thing we have but at same time it is the most vulnerable thing you have. We store each and everything on our mobile images, important business documents, files, social media account details and most importantly our google account.

Our google account is linked to almost everything from your photos, videos, files to social accounts. We use google photos to backup our photos and videos, drive to keep files and also for sharing it, keep login through google for social media accounts. Some of us even save ATM pins, passwords, login details in our mobile phones.

We can say that our phones are the simplest thing to hack. Attackers can attack you in a number of ways and if you are using third party applications by giving them full access then you are at very high risk. Even if you are using some vulnerable websites it can also lead to the same. Now generally we use mobile wallets, UPI’s for transactions, if our mobile security is compromised then we have to deal with financial losses.

How some hack into your mobile

Whether you are using an Iphone, Android, Windows or Linux operating system based phone, it is possible to hack you. Yes, sometimes it can be difficult to hack in some of the OS such as Iphone and Linux but it is possible.

There are various hacking software out there in the market for free and paid both. By which your device can be hacked. Some of the ways to hack in your phone are as follows:

1.Phishing:

Phishing is a way to hack your device, it is a commonly used method to steal your data. Phishing is performed as the attacker fakes his identity to a legit company or individual which you can trust and sends you image, message, links, mostly in text message or email. If you click on these links, your phone can be hacked because these links contain malicious viruses, trojans, etc.

2.Trojan:

Trojan is a file which looks as a useful file but apparently it is a malware which is used to gain access to your system. After activation, an attacker can steal your data and monitor you. Your every activity will be known by the attacker. By analyzing you the attacker can plan heavy threats on you.

3. Vishing:

Vishing is a method by which the attacker attacks you by making a call and in that particular call he fakes his identity to a trustworthy person. The attacker tricks in such a way that you can be manipulated to give your private information to him. Receiving such call is common nowadays as this is one of the most common way attackers are trying to get information from you.

4. Network Attacking:

Network Attacking is done through wifi networks. Connecting to public wifi networks can result into vulnerable attacks on your device. Attackers usually prefer to hack through networks because they get a bunch of target in a single network. Attacking you via networks is much easier now.

5. Pegasus:

It is a dangerous and outrageous spyware. It hacks a mobile, steals data and can even control and operate the targeted mobile. This spyware can get in your mobile only by a single whatsapp message or a missed call ,you don’t even need to pick or cut the call. It doesn't need you to click any link, URL, or pop-up anything.

It is developed by Isrealli company NSO group, it is developed to prevent and investigate terror and crime, government agencies and law enforcement agencies can use it to fight against crime and terror.

A france based NGO “Forbidden stories” with technical support of “Amnesty International” revealed that Isreaei NSO group’s spyware used to target activists, political leader, journalist over the globe and revealed the list of over 50 thousand phone numbers, from this list some are already been attacked and some may be attacked in future.

How to give security to your mobile:

There are different ways to provide security to your mobile it can be your inbuilt phone security and even providing an external security. Providing security to your mobile can't guarantee that you will 100% be safe from hackers but it can gradually decrease the chances of you getting hacked.

Inbuilt Security:

Inbuilt security can be done by putting some settings to your devices. These settings are generally available in your settings application and also by changing the settings of your browser you can defend yourself.

Putting privacy barriers to application can provide advanced security.

External Security:

External security is providing an anti-virus to your mobile. Getting a good paid antivirus can secure your device to a very high level. Any trojans, malware, viruses attacking you through networks, use ports or through any medium can be immediately identified and you will be knowing it. Anti-virus provides security throughout your mobile from web-browsing, wifi, malware protection, privacy each and everything.

Precautions you can take from being hacked:

In our day-to-day life we make a lot of mistakes by which we can become an easy target. Avoiding some basic things and taking some precautions can keep you safe for most of the time. Some of the things you can do are as below:

1.Avoiding Public Wi-Fi:

Connecting to a public wi-fi network makes you visible to multiple people and for multiple attacks. Public wi-fi or any open wi-fi is a treat for attackers. Most dangerous thing to happen with any individual is to be in the same network as the attacker is in. And the worst part is you can never know what information is being carried out from your mobile to the network, it can be a monitoring or stealing data.

2.Suspicious Calls

We all have heard that we should not tell our personal information or any banking details through mobile but still some people unknowingly tell that information and get destroyed. Some of the attackers tricks us in such a way that we trust them blindly in only 5-6 mins of conversation, this leads us to a sivir damage. Prominently the attacker targets the person who is lonely or depressed or suffering from a problem and mostly don’t have anyone to talk with but it doesn't mean that the attacker will not target other people.

So we should not trust anyone for sharing your information with. And whenever having such calls we should immediately avoid talking to them and report these numbers to the cyber crime department.

3.Avoiding Public USB Charging Port:

There are many places where the charging ports are provided but these charging ports are ports where we don’t need to put an adapter, just insert the wire in the port and you will see your mobile getting charged. But the main thing is behind that port there can be a rubber ducky which can steal all the data in your mobile, inject viruses and malwares. Rubber ducky cannot be detected with any antivirus or firewall , as it acts as an OTG device.

So avoiding these kind of charging points can protect you from being hacked. All the ports are not necessarily of such types but some of them are, therefore we should avoid taking this risk.

4.Using Secure Web-Sites:

Some sites redirect us to very different irrelevant pages from where the viruses and malwares can enter in our mobile. Clicking on any pop-up also gives a gateway to viruses, malware and malicious software to attack. Always use sites which start from “https” and check whether the site's name is proper or not. One can replicate a complete site but can’t replicate its name as it is. So checking the site's name can be very useful . And avoid clicking on any irrelevant links which can come on SMS, Mails, and social media.

5.Stop Auto Downloading:

Some of the applications we use such as Whatsapp have the option of auto-downloading enabled by default. We should always change that and disable it. Keeping it enabled can automatically download any images, video or other file coming from a known or unknown person, behind that particular file you never know if there is a backdoor virus or anything malicious which can harm your mobile. If by chance you download any suspicious file then deleting it immediately will help you to be protected.

Therefore, in conclusion we need to take some basic steps to keep ourselves protected and be aware all the time. We never know if we are being targeted or not but staying safe is always better. And keeping this small measures in our mind would help us a lot.