Here’s some bad news:
Right now, there is a small army of mobilized cyberthreats walking around your office and interacting with your network.
What are these cyberthreats? They’re your employees, who are using mobile devices like smartphones, tablets, phablets and laptops to access, store and share sensitive company information.
Most of these devices live in the shadows of your IT department, meaning IT has no record of them. They are unprotected, and pose a major security risk to your organization.
Why should you be concerned? Here are five chilling mobile security facts:
Android devices are now shipping with pre-loaded malware
Just recently, a cybersecurity firm found malware on 36 different Android devices across multiple technology companies. Each device was compromised between the time it was manufactured, and the time it was delivered to an end user. In other words, many devices are now shipping with pre-loaded malware. So as a basic security precaution, all devices should be thoroughly scanned and cleared for use before employees start using them at work.
There were 8.5 million mobile malware attacks in 2016
Think hackers have bigger things to worry about than seemingly mobile devices? Think again. To a hacker, a mobile device can be one of the easiest ways into an enterprise network. Between 2015 and 2016, mobile malware attacks increased more than three times.
Your employees are using unsafe applications
The fact is that it’s not easy to tell which applications are unsafe. Many appear to be perfectly fine. Take Uber, for instance; just recently, Appthority published a report claiming that Uber puts sensitive personal and corporate information at risk due to location tracking and incomplete privacy policies. The report claims that Uber makes users’ smartphones prone to spear phishing, physical security exposures and watering hole attacks.
What is a watering hole attack? In this type of attack, a hacker will collect a user’s geo location data over time and then link the data points together to launch a targeted attack at the right time.
iPhishing is becoming a major problem
Apple has a feature called Find My iPhone, which lets users remotely locate, lock or wipe an iPhone using iCloud credentials. And unfortunately, hackers have found a way to exploit it. First, someone will steal a user’s iPhone. Then, a hacker will log in and clear the device of personal information in order to resell it and turn a profit.
Many employees are not protecting their phones
Over one third of smartphone owners take no security measures to protect their smartphones. In other words, many are storing sensitive data on their phones but they are not using passwords or biometric security solutions to protect them. This is basically like leaving the front door of your business wide open for any common criminal to exploit.
A new breed of hacktrepeneurs has awoken and they have little to fear and everything to gain by infecting as many companies as possible and extorting money from them. Apex Technology Services stands ready to protect your company regardless of whether it’s located in New York City; White Plains, New York; Connecticut; Australia; Europe; or anywhere else. Our full suite of cybersecurity and IT support services is at your disposal, enabling you to spend less time worrying about and more time growing your business.
To ensure your security, consider one of our most popular services — Auditing & Documentation — which pinpoints vulnerabilities in your infrastructure, process flow and internal security procedures.