Security for Mobile Devices

Security: Mobile Protection As the Internet has become the dominant means of communicating, sharing information, tending to business, storing data, and maintaining records in the Digital Age, the importance of security for the digital world has become more and more realized (Zhang et al., 2017). Not only do companies have to invest in digital security in order to safeguard against threats and risks such as hacking or malware, but individuals also have to be cognizant of the threats to their personal information and property now that all things are online.

This is particularly important for people to consider given that so many individuals today carry around pocket computers in the form of a mobile phone—an iPhone, a smart phone, a tablet, an iPad—all of these devices require mobile protection as they can link up to and connect to the Internet wherever one goes (so long as one is within range of service, of course).

Cybercriminals are ready and willing to attack one’s mobile devices to steal data, passwords, personal information, emails—anything that can be obtained through an unsecured network. For that reason, one must be extra cautious in today’s world. One cannot expect, for example, free security apps to safeguard against all forms of malware. Zhou, Wang, Zhou and Jiang (2012) conducted an experiment in which they downloaded 204,040 apps from five different Android Markets in May-June 2011.

Over the more than two hundred thousand apps they downloaded, there were 211 with malicious malware on them: 32 came from the official Android Market, or 0.02% of the apps were infectious and 179 of them came from other online marketplaces, with an infectious rate of around 0.35% overall.

Thus, no matter where one is downloading one’s apps from, one should be aware that there is a risk of downloading an app that contains malware that can infect one’s phone, tablet or laptop and that can proceed to harvest information or control one’s computer. That risk may be lower than 1% but there is still a risk—and one should always be aware of the risks for the sake of security.

Best practices for downloading apps can be to review the app extensively before downloading it. But even that is not a surefire way, as many apps on Google Play have been found to be infected by malware in recent years (Bird, 2017). The Android model of security, which is based on the isolation model, does essentially leave it up to users to determine the security of an app that is being downloaded (Delac et al., 2011).

However, being wary of downloading an app that does not have any reviews or that has been reviewed negatively by almost all downloaders is not a sufficient method of protecting oneself from downloading a dangerous app. Although the Internet is full of information and people are always willing to share, taking a few moments to review what users online are saying about a specific app before taking the risk of downloading it does not provide a sufficiently sophisticated line of defense.

Even if it is a popular app that has been downloaded many thousands of times by users, the risk of it containing malware may be lower—but this is not a good way of managing risk when it comes to safeguarding one’s mobile devices. It is better to install malware detection on mobile devices to ensure that one is able to protect against attack—and not just guess about whether one is at risk (Zhou et al., 2012).

Seo, Gupta, Sallam, Bertino and Yim (2014) show that one must use malware detection to protect information on mobile devices—otherwise one is simply not being safe: it is like driving without a seatbelt at 90 mph down an icy road in the dark of night without lights. Likewise, Ahmadi, Sotgiu and Giacinto (2018) show that IntelliAV, a system they developed, can act as a learning-based anti-malware.

Bird (2017) showed that of the many different types of malware found on Google Play, one of the worst was ExpensiveWall, which would send out text messages and charge people for services even if the person did not want them. At least 50 apps were discovered on Google Play to be infected with this malware. Delac, Silic and Krolo (2011) found that worms, Trojan horses and other viruses are commonly installed on phones via the downloading of harmful or infected apps.

Ways of protecting against infection are built-in to Android phones, which operate on a Linux kernel and use an isolation model (Delac et al., 2011), but this comes with its own issues and difficulties, as it reduces the effectiveness of an app. The shared user ID application permits mobile devices to share information, which makes them vulnerable to security threats, hacking, malware, spyware and so on. An iOS platform could benefit from isolation (Delac et al., 2011), but isolation is not a guarantee of security in and of itself.

Some safety considerations to keep in mind are the Wi-Fi that one is using when installing an app. Free Wi-Fi networks such as in a public place are unsecure and can be exposed to threats, such as hackers seeking an entry point. One should also avoid jailbreaking and rooting one’s own mobile device security system, as this leaves the system vulnerable to a number of risks and exposes it to malware that can access data (Delac et al., 2011).

However, installing anti-malware is one of the best ways to prevent an attack (Ahmadi et al., 2018). It is also important to consider the source. If one is going to install an app, one should do so from a trusted source, such as Google Play. Even though it has been shown that even Google Play can have apps that are infected with malware, the numbers show that these apps are fewer than 1% of all apps offered on the site.

These numbers are much better than third party sites where one can have no idea as to the trustworthiness of what is being downloaded. It is like going to Walmart and making a purchase—the quality of the product may be good or bad, but it still beats buying the product from a vendor on the street whose integrity is dubious at best. Another critical defense is to update one’s mobile device software regularly.

This ensures that it has the latest line of defense against the latest line of attacks. Mobile device that do not update regularly are left without patches and are thus left vulnerable to criminals seeking entry into their systems. To recap, the best lines of defense for mobile protection: 1) Install anti-malware, as this will reduce the risk of malware being downloaded and gaining control over a system. Anti-malware should be the first step that a mobile user takes in providing security for a mobile device.

2) A mobile user should never download apps from third parties, as these are less likely than sites like Google Play to offer clean apps. Even Google Play has been found to offer compromised apps, but still fewer than half of 1% of its offerings have been corrupted, or roughly 1 out of every 300 apps might be infected with malware. Those odds are a lot better than among third party sites—yet they are still not great, so the anti-malware should always be the first go-to step.

3) Never jailbreak a phone as this only makes it easier for criminals to take advantage of the lack of security on your device. Security is installed for a reason, and if one wants to “free up” a mobile device’s options, one should consider developing his own software or iOS system instead of breaking up the one installed. The designer of that system had very specific protections in mind that can be undermined when the system is rooted.

It leaves the device vulnerable, so it is simply just a safe way to keep from being susceptible to malware attacks. 4) One should always upgrade one’s mobile software whenever upgrades are available. Upgrades are important for obtaining patches that can correct errors and vulnerabilities in the software. The more security fixes a piece of software puts out, the more likely it will be to withstand the latest in cyber attacks.

The Internet today can be a dangerous play and though most users are not inclined to think about security, the fact is that they have to be very mindful of security, especially as they.