The smartphone is easily one of the most significant technological breakthroughs of the last twenty years. The ability to connect with one another via every conceivable medium with a single device has revolutionized the world. We have access to more information at the tap of a screen than ever thought possible. The smartphone can act as everything from encyclopedia to wallet, so it is crucial that we protect them from every angle we possibly can.
The smartphone is easily one of the most significant technological breakthroughs of the last twenty years. The ability to connect with one another via every conceivable medium with a single device has revolutionized the world. We have access to more information at the tap of a screen than ever thought possible. The smartphone can act as everything from encyclopedia to wallet, so it is crucial that we protect them from every angle we possibly can.
The Mobile Phone Security Risk
The smartphone has become a lifeline in the modern age. We use it for everything. While there is little security risk in making a phone call here and there, the real risk lies in one of its other basic functions, the email inbox.
In 2022, phishing scams were the single most costly source of data breaches in the workplace. Costing nearly five billion dollars in business, phishing scams are shockingly simple and distressingly prevalent. We associate phishing schemes with desktop computers, but a smartphone is effectively the same thing. The same scrutiny and careful workplace digital hygiene need to be observed when operating from a smart device.
Social engineering is also a major source of smartphone hijacking. Social engineering is the less flashy cousin to the traditional phishing scam. While phishing relies on a recipient clicking on a bad link or downloading a malicious piece of data, social engineering is a simple and often embarrassing method of tricking a user into granting access to a device on their own accord. Using a well-written script and a phone call, a tricky hacker can guide a hapless user down the path of ruin.
Smartphone users are susceptible to connection attacks that desktops would simply never run into by virtue of being more mobile. Leaving a smartphone’s Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connections on while walking around town will leave a device open to so-called “man-in-the-middle” attacks. These attacks position an invisible or otherwise disguised third party in between a device and the network to which it is sending data. Information that is not properly encrypted during a man-in-the-middle attack can simply be plucked from a computer and copied with little to no fanfare. Because smartphones travel with us to any number of unsecured Bluetooth devices and internet networks, they are constantly at risk for these types of attacks.
Lastly, we run the risk of simply losing our phones. Smartphones are compact, easy to carry, and easy to steal. A lost phone can rip a person’s life apart once a bad actor gets ahold of it.
Prevention is the name of the game when it comes to protecting the data we entrust to our smartphones, but what happens when we let our guard down?
The Things We Carry
Smartphone hacks are particularly devastating. These devices are our companions in many respects, and because of that, much of our most precious data resides on our smartphones. Smartphones also tend to prioritize simplicity over security. The single sign-on solutions the tech giants like Google and Facebook offer to users create a massive security gap.
When a smartphone hack hits, it hits hard. These hacks open up our wallets, our personal conversations, and our photo albums. Any embarrassing secret is instantly laid bare for a hacker to use against you.
Once a device has been compromised, your default cloud storage accounts can be accessed through the front door, so to speak. A hacker that has access to a phone’s data can use it to operate with exactly as much access to your personal files as you. Passwords managed on a browser, every single search you’ve made, and all of the photos you’ve ever taken of yourself can easily fall into the hands of a monster when improperly secured.
Protecting Our Phones
Protecting your devices is a rather simple manner. Place passwords wherever you can.
Lockscreens: lock screens act as a first line of defense when a device falls into the wrong hands
Log out of social media: when not in use, log out of your accounts. This will prevent hackers from popping in to trick loved ones or scour your messages for personally identifying information.
Secure Your Storage: it is tempting to use the default cloud storage services provided with your device. The problem here is that everyone is using them, and they’re not quite as secure as they could be. AXEL Go not only fully encrypts your data, it also creates a decentralized ecosystem to further protect data once it leaves your device for the cloud.
The Importance of Security
Hackers depend on sloppy security to get what they want off of a smartphone. We use our devices to solve so many problems over the course of ownership that it’s easy to forget what resides on our micro USBs.
Taking a look through your downloads and saved photos will reveal that you probably have photos of your driver’s license from the last time you accepted a job offer, your social security number might lie dormant in an email to a landlord, and your partner’s personal photos might be sitting in your messaging application of choice.
Don’t leave your security to chance. Take control with AXEL Go. You can have complete and total privacy in the face of Big Tech oversight and hacker intervention alike with our password-protected link-based file sharing, personal details will remain inscrutable in our fully-encrypted cloud storage, and your files can only be shared on your terms with our customizable expiration dates.
Sources
Nelson, Brooke. “Top Security Threats of Smartphones (2022).” Reader’s Digest. Reader’s Digest, July 27, 2022. https://www.rd.com/article/mobile-security-threats/.
“Cost of a Data Breach 2022.” IBM. Accessed January 25, 2023. https://www.ibm.com/reports/data-breach?utm_content=SRCWW&p1=Search&p4=43700072379268724&p5=p&gclid=CjwKCAiAoL6eBhA3EiwAXDom5jTDtO0hPbzV92OnPinwpmiL1kK3yx9JFleMywHOuVRC35kMbE9B7hoC9XoQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds.
Fruhlinger, Josh. “How to Hack a Phone: 7 Common Attack Methods Explained.” CSO Online. CSO, November 2, 2021. https://www.csoonline.com/article/2112407/how-to-hack-a-phone.html.
