Mobile Devices
Smart phones have revolutionized so many aspects of life and brought the world to our fingertips. For many of us, smart phones are our primary means of communication, entertainment and access to knowledge. But while they've brought convenience to whole new level, there's some ugly things going on behind the screen. Geo-tracking is used to trace our every move, and we have little control over who has this data- your phone is even able to track your location without GPS. Over the years numerous reports that surfaced, outlining ways in which your phone's mic can eavesdrop, and the camera can watch you- all without your knowledge or consent. And then there's the malicious apps, lack of security patches and potential/ likely backdoors. Using a smart phone generates a lot of data about you- from information you intentionally share, to data silently generated from your actions. It can be scary to see what Google, Microsoft, Apple and Facebook know about us- sometimes they know more than our closest family. It's hard to comprehend what your data will reveal, especially in conjunction with other data.
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| Done? | Advice | Level | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
essential | In order to keep your data safe from physical access, use file encryption. This will mean if your device is lost or stolen, no one will have access to your data. | ||
essential | When you're not using WiFi or Bluetooth, turn those features off. There are several common threats that use these features. | ||
essential | Uninstall apps that you don’t need or use regularly. If you have apps on your device that you never use, these can slow your device down and collect data, but more importantly, they can also be a backdoor into your device for cyber criminals. Many mobile devices now scan for unused apps and prompt you to delete them. If you get a prompt, check it, and delete anything you don't use. | ||
essential | Don’t grant apps permissions that they don’t need. For example, if you have a supermarket's app on your device, it might ask for access to your location, your files, and your call log. It is unlikely that your local supermarket actually needs this. There are two, linked, reasons we want to avoid giving apps access to things they don't need: firstly, we can't be sure what an app is doing with that data, and secondly, if that app is the victim of a cyber attack, all of the extra data would be in the hands of a cyber criminal. | ||
essential | If you see an app online - for example, on social media - you might want to download it. But if we download an app through a website we have no way of knowing if the app is safe. We should instead only download things through the official app store on our device, such as Google Play or Apple App Store. Apps downloaded through these official app stores are screened for malware, so are more likely to be safe. | ||
essential | Text messages (SMS) should not be used to receive two factor authentication (2FA) codes. Cyber criminals have been able to take over people's phone humbers and this lets them receive text codes. Instead, use codes that come through a more secure source, like email, or better still, use an authenticator app. |