The Silicon Review - Best Business Review Magazine 10 Best Security Companies 2019 | Page 51

circumvent data security measures
using smartphones as their
doorway.
Let’s explore some of
the most common ways
in which sensitive data
from mobile phones can
be compromised:
Inadvertent permissions
As silly as it may seem, most users
leak data inadvertently, believing
applications to be trustworthy.
Almost every single mobile app
requires access to user data on one
level or another. “The main challenge
is how to implement an app vetting
process that does not overwhelm the
administrator and does not frustrate
the users,” says Dionisio Zumerle,
research director for mobile
security at Gartner. There are
numerous solutions and software
for avoiding applications-centered
data leakage. Such measures have a
comprehensive way of vetting apps
and determining which ones may
pose a threat, and to what levels.
It is extremely important that
everyone from the casual user to
working professionals who access
sensitive data take certain simple
measures like not granting access
permissions to applications from
unverified developers and taking
care not to save any corporate
information on their phones.
Masquerading and Phishing
It is one of the oldest and most
common ways used in the theft of
data. In spite of all the numerous
security features and anti-virus
software available and widespread
awareness regarding data security,
a disturbingly large number of
smartphone users fall for this and
end up disclosing confidential
information to the wrong person.
Most of the mobile applications for
emails only display the name of the
sender and no other information.
This is a common trick used by
a number of con artists to get
unsuspecting people to respond
to emails asking for personal
information.
Phishing also remains the most
common technique used by hackers
to get users to reveal highly
sensitive personal information like
user names, passwords, credit card,
and banking information and so on.
This is simply because almost every
working professional opens up a
new email on their phones, rather
than desktops. This makes mobile
internet pages attractive targets
for hackers to replicate and steal
information.
Unsecured networks
With so many mobile applications
offering a plethora of utilities,
combined with the pervasive
addictiveness of social media,
people are more likely to browse
the internet on their phones while
on the move. This greatly increases
the likelihood of connecting to
unprotected internet hotspots.
Two or more people exchanging
messages over an unsecured
Wi-fi risk their messages being
intercepted by an unknown person.
Such messages may contain
confidential information that could
either be personal or official. In
cities with free public Wi-fi, the
chances of information being
viewed by an unintended person
increase drastically.
of the biggest threats to information
security, in spite of warnings and
notifications for improving the
strengths for the same. Techniques
used to gain access to a secured
system range from guessing
of passwords to hacking using
advanced tools. However, such
methods are rendered difficult if the
passwords are at least 10 characters
long and consist of letters, numbers
in addition to symbols.
With the right system hacked,
cybercriminals can siphon off
large amounts of mission-critical
corporate data that could cause
millions of dollars in damages
and require months for recovery.
Additionally, entire networks
and public infrastructure can be
compromised if key officials don’t
take adequate precautions.
The information age that we live
in demands that we consider
information as important resources,
as something precious to be
protected. The struggle between
hackers and cybersecurity measures
is a constantly evolving one and
everyone must be constantly
vigilant or end up as hapless victims.
SR
Weak passwords
Although this does not seem like
a likely reason for theft of data,
repeated surveys carried out
by various organizations have
suggested otherwise. This problem
is made worse by the fact that
personal, as well as official or
corporate information, can all be
accessed from a smartphone on the
go. Weak passwords for personal
devices and login portals remain one
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