Cybersecurity is crucial for small and medium businesses (SMBs). In addition, more than 60% of firms were hit by cybercrime in 2019. Per a new Gallup survey on teleworking trends, the frequency of cyber-attacks has nearly quadrupled ever since the epidemic to keep workers and consumers safely at home. Workers were thrown into a paradigm of working remotely rapidly, utilizing Microsoft 365 and other virtualized tools and apps. Because of the need to change, many businesses have been left vulnerable in terms of cybersecurity.

 

Attacks have become a significant worry for both organizations and consumers in recent years. But, in regards to cyberattacks, the beginnings of smartphone adoption were pretty calm. Older traditional desktop setups were considerably more appealing targets back then because of the sheer quantity available globally. So, how did everything start to change? What makes mobile devices so attractive to cybercriminals?

 

Let’s examine why this transition from desktops to smartphone attacks has arisen, as well as what users could do to protect their critical company data.

 

1. Technological advancements

Hackers couldn’t utilize early cell phones since they didn’t have enough speed or resources. Mobile phones have more memory and computational power than computers had just a few decades back, and sometimes even web servers did just a few years back. When you bring in 3G or 4G bandwidth, you get the ideal resource for the attack.

 

2. Excessive volume

Just a few years back, the number of mobiles supplied began to outnumber the range of traditional IT equipment quickly. In addition, many cyber attacks use botnets, which are large armies of hacked devices that may be remotely managed to perform the hacker’s plan or sold in mass to be managed by a third party. Hackers realized where the revenue was when mobile phones became the most popular platform.

 

3. User interaction

People are more inclined to believe pop-ups that encourage them to download dangerous programs and viruses because they follow their smartphones and are dynamic and responsive to mobile notifications. People have been known to poke away at their identification and contact information without thinking, making flashlight applications infamous privacy concerns. Since these smartphones save contact details, this doesn’t concern you if you value privacy as long as you’ve provided your contact information to anyone who isn’t. If people are not cautious with data consumption, especially when traveling, they may face high costs.

 

4. On all the time

When not being used, PCs and laptops are usually turned off or powered down. This implies that even though a computer is attacked, the command-and-control (C&C) server would not access it all of the time. But on the other side, even at nighttime, cellphones are infrequently turned off. These gadgets are intended to stay online and search for changes even when the display is turned off, which means they may do malicious operations as their users sleep alongside them.

 

5. Useful information

We save considerably more personal details on our smartphones as we become more reliant on them (does anyone recall their mobile numbers anymore?). Not only our connections but also the social networking sites on which they participate. We save passwords for applications, family photographs, work email, and a variety of other things.

 

6. Built-in security vulnerabilities

Android smartphones enable you to activate third-party mobile apps straight out of the box. There may be compromised versions of genuine programs in these. People download apps to avoid expensive programs, seldom questioning why hackers would give users this free service. Applications in these platforms may take on whatever identity they want and run any coding they choose. Smartphones can make premium calls invisibly, rack up taps on commercial banners, and launch DDoS attacks alone without the user’s knowledge. Malware has been found in the Play Store & Apple’s App Store but in far lower quantities.

 

When errors are found, the fragmented design of the Android Operating system makes it challenging for security professionals to acquire fixes. Since there are no actual limitations on who may create applications, and because phone SDKs are widely available these days, rogue apps are not the first danger. Inadequately built ones may struggle to fulfill the encryption or data processing necessary to secure protected information.

 

7. A variety of attack surfaces

Mobile devices may be hacked in a variety of ways. Because of their portable nature, they are readily stolen. Users that have no means of understanding when new code has been introduced frequently undertake a jailbreak. Malicious profiles might be installed recklessly. Rogue programs may be downloaded, unencrypted communication can be monitored, and it seems possible attack vectors are discovered and exposed every few days.

 

How to protect your smartphone or any device?

All you need to do is start using the VPN on your mobile phone. The best VPN for android that you can use is VeePN which ensures and guarantees your data protection. A virtual private network encrypts data sent and received over the internet. VPN software must be installed on all your gadgets, including your PC, tablet, and phone. It delivers your information in a cluttered format (encrypt data) that anyone attempting to obtain is unintelligible.

 

Even though Apple phones are safer than android, you can never trust a device altogether. VPN app iPhone is critical for the protection of your iPhone. You can try it out with a free trial before purchasing.

 

Is it easier to hack a phone or a laptop?

Is it possible to hack into a mobile? Unfortunately, yes, but cellphones are considerably more difficult to attack than PCs. This is primarily due to the fact that cellphones cannot be located using IP addresses.

 

What is the best phone that can’t be hacked?

Cell Phones might not be relatively as safe as you think they are. They’re simply PCs with wireless antennas, and they’re just as vulnerable to cyber-attacks and other prying eyes as any other laptop or desktop device.

 

the five best secure smartphones on the market if you want to improve your security and privacy are

1. Purism Librem 5
2. Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
3. Blackphone 2
4. Bittium Tough Mobile 2C
5. Sirin V3