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Five Mistakes to Avoid for Better Cell Phone SecurityNov. 21, 2008 As cell phones grow in capacity and capability, they also pose a more serious risk to leaking confidential information. Here's what NOT to do with your mobile device. This risk is due to two key factors. First, users tend to be as careful with their mobile devices as they are with their laptops, and second, security solutions (encryption, antivirus, etc.) are not as pervasively deployed on mobile devices as they are on laptop computers. A 2007 study commissioned in part by the National Cyber Security Alliance was based on interviews with 700 mobile workers in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, China, India, South Korea, and Singapore. Among the findings: 1: Disabling the lock feature on the phone and/or not establishing a password to unlock an idled phoneThis is how lost mobiles become dangerous mobiles. Because they are so small and so portable, mobile phones are easier to misplace or steal than laptops. The numbers are staggering. According to a survey commissioned by Pointsec, 85,000 mobile phones and 21,000 PDAs and smartphones were left on taxis in Chicago over a 6-month period in 2007. The survey also found that more than 63,000 mobile phones and 5,800 PDAs and smartphones were left in London taxis during the same 6-month period. 2: Keeping passwords of any type or device stored on the phoneKeeping information that could compromise company security in "plain sight" on the phone (e.g., keeping server or other passwords in Notes or Contacts, keeping detailed/sensitive information on an unsecured device). 3: Opening an application from an unsecured/unknown sourceDownloading or opening a malicious or even just poorly constructed application can cause all sorts of problems, such as data corruption, uncontrolled/erratic operations, or handset system crash. 4: Using the phone to access dangerous or risky Web sites and Internet locationsMost mobile devices provide Internet access, making it just as easy to access risky Web sites and Internet content on a phone as it is to access this content on a computer. This can wreak havoc on a phone from crashes due to viruses and malware, to unsolicited content that affects performance. 5: Leaving the phone open to access, such as leaving Bluetooth or WiFi on, visible and unsecuredSome of the most prevalent mobile viruses and worms use an unprotected Bluetooth connection to get into mobile devices or to spread to other devices. This includes two of the most common mobile device viruses, both with a number of variants, Cabir and CommWarrior. Remember to lock off the Bluetooth and WiFi channels. |
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