Why do mobile devices pose a security risk, and how can you protect yourself, your devices, and your company’s network and data?
In this article, we have presented the information by first asking questions you should consider. You may want to think about the questions before reading the comments. See if you can get the answers right.
- Is it true that mobile phones and tablets cannot be infected by malware, unlike PCs? This is not true. Cybercriminals are increasingly creating malware for mobile devices as more and more people are using them.
- What are some ways in which you can help keep your mobile devices secure?
- Set up a password, PIN or biometric authentication.
- Never leave your devices unattended in public places. You should avoid giving an attacker the chance to have physical access to your devices in the first place.
- Only download apps from official application stores. Application on official application stores are less likely to contain malware.
- After arriving at home, you realize that have left your company tablet in the coffeeshop you were at earlier. What should you do? Report the incident to your IT team immediately. This allows the IT team to prevent any potential breaches, even if there is only a small risk of the device being in a criminal’s hands.
- Having a strong password on your laptop is important, because it allows you to leave the device unattended in public places for short periods. True or false? Even though a strong password is essential, you should never leave your devices unattended in public places.
- You are working on a mobile device in a coffeeshop, when you need to use the restroom. What should you do? Pack up your device and take it with you. You should never leave your mobile devices unattended in public places.
- What should you do when you stop using a device? Factory reset the device. This wipes away your data from the device.
- You see an ad for a fun new game. However, the game is not available on an official app store but requires you to allow the installation of third-party apps. What should you do? Don’t install the game. You should only install apps from official application stores as they check apps for malware.
- Your mobile phone lets you know that a new operating system update is ready to install. What should you do? Install it as soon as reasonably possible. Operating system updates often contain important security improvements, so they should be installed without delay.
- Why should you only download applications from official application stores? They are less likely to contain malware. On official application stores, applications can be reviewed by users, and ones found to contain malware will be removed.
- Why might a cybercriminal create a malicious application posing as a game? To dupe you into downloading the malicious software in disguise. This is a common scam and can be found on sites across the internet.