Mobile Security

Introduction to Mobile Security

Mobile security refers to safeguarding smartphones, tablets, laptops, and similar portable devices, along with the networks they access, against potential threats and vulnerabilities associated with wireless connectivity. It is alternatively referred to as wireless security. Ensuring the security of mobile devices has gained paramount significance owing to the exponential growth in device usage and their diverse applications. This challenge is further amplified in enterprise settings due to the prevalent trend of IT consumerization, leading to a surge in employee-owned devices connecting to corporate networks.

Escalating Mobile Threats: Statistics and Insights

A smartphone user is exposed to various threats when they use their phone. In just the last two-quarters of 2012, the number of unique mobile threats grew by 261%, according to ABI Research. These threats can disrupt the operation of the smartphone, and transmit or modify user data. So applications must guarantee privacy and integrity of the information they handle. In addition, since some apps could themselves be malware, their functionality and activities should be limited (for example, restricting the apps from accessing location information via GPS, blocking access to the user’s address book, preventing the transmission of data on the network, sending SMS messages that are billed to the user, etc.).

There are three prime targets for attackers:

• Data: smartphones are devices for data management, and may contain sensitive data like credit card numbers, authentication information, private information, activity logs (calendar, call logs);
• Identity: smartphones are highly customizable, so the device or its contents can easily be associated with a specific person. For example, every mobile device can transmit information related to the owner of the mobile phone contract,[citation needed] and an attacker may want to steal the identity of the owner of a smartphone to commit other offenses;
• Availability: attacking a smartphone can limit access to it and deprive the owner of its use.

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