What Are the Biggest Mobile Cybersecurity Threats Every Business Must Know?

What Are the Biggest Mobile Cybersecurity Threats Every Business Must Know?

How many times a day do you Google something on your smartphone?

It’s second nature now. Any questions you have, any movie stars you want to look up, any local restaurants you want to check out — just grab your phone and ask.

And with more than half of worldwide internet traffic originating from phones, the popularity of mobile search shows no sign of slowing down. Particularly for businesses.

The ease, speed and convenience of mobile internet means employees can access work documents, data and software at any time. But accessing business accounts and data via your mobile device opens you up to cybersecurity threats, just like browsing on a computer.

So, what are the biggest mobile cybersecurity threats every business must know?

Malware Lurking in Websites and Apps

It’s easy to assume malware is a risk to employees going online via their desktop or laptop computers, not mobile devices.

But that’s just not the case. Malware can infect a smartphone just as it would bigger hardware and cause serious problems.

Mobile malware typically attacks smartphones through web pages, attachments or apps primed to unleash infections. Clicking a link in an email, downloading a program or installing an app could put your business’s data in danger within seconds.

It’s a simple mistake to make, especially for non-tech-savvy employees.

Infected apps may access your smartphone’s data storage, memory, internal processes and other apps. It may even run in the background without being noticed by the user, gathering information and sharing it with whoever created it.

Hands-on Device Theft

One of the most obvious and damaging cybersecurity risks is theft.

And we mean physical theft: having a phone or tablet stolen by a mugger or opportunistic criminal.

It’s not hard to imagine how this might happen. An employee is out enjoying the sunshine on their lunch break, maybe sitting in the park or outside a cafe. They put their phone down for a moment to grab a drink or open their bag.

When they look back up, the phone is gone.

This takes just seconds but can have devastating results. A hacker would be able to bypass a pin or password and get into the owner’s accounts with ease. They could access your business’s emails, banking and communications in next to no time.

Scary, isn’t it? That’s why it’s so vital that all employees take good care of their company and personal phones. Any device with data relating to the business should be secured with a pin or password, as well as the additional security measures (such as facial recognition and fingerprint scanning).

Encourage all staff to stay vigilant and be aware. If their phone is stolen, they have to admit it fast: the sooner they raise the alarm, the sooner action can be taken to protect data in the cloud.

Unsecured Wi-Fi Networks

Free, public Wi-Fi is great. Employees can take their phone or tablet to the local coffee shop and do a little work outside the office for a change of scenery. The Wi-Fi is thrown in free when you buy a drink or snack so there’s no reason to lose momentum.

But free Wi-Fi networks tend to be unsecured. And that makes anyone using them vulnerable to cybersecurity risks. Any social media interactions, emails,writing, calls and more may be available to hackers.

This is why employees must be careful when accessing Wi-Fi networks beyond their own or your business’s. If they need to wait until they’re back in the office to finish a task or make a call, a slight delay is far better than the alternative.

And this leads us nicely on to …

The Threat of Network Spoofing

Free, public Wi-Fi networks may pose a threat, but network spoofing is much more dangerous.

This involves hackers creating fake access points designed to look like legitimate Wi-Fi connections. You might see them appear on a list of Wi-Fi networks when you visit a coffee shop, bar, airport etc.

Cybercriminals give their fake networks believable names (‘Coffee Place’, ‘Airport Open Wi-Fit’ etc.) to entice oblivious users. They might ask you to set-up an account before giving you access or just let you dive right in.

One big hazard is that employees might use their standard username and password to create accounts with fake networks. And that means cybercriminals would be able to get into emails, banking accounts and anything else protected by the same details.

The entire business’s and clients’ data could be in danger because of a simple mistake.

Taking Action to Minimize Your Business’s Vulnerability

Every company wants to be safe against cybersecurity risks. Every company wants to trust its employees to handle accounts and data in a responsible way.

But it’s not so simple.

Cybercriminals use ever-more-sophisticated techniques and tools to target businesses. Employees need to be made aware of the threats they face when they’re online across all devices.

Effective training is key to help your workforce exercise caution and stay vigilant whenever they’re working or communicating on their smartphone or tablet. And make sure any company phones you hand out have been checked and utilize strict security safeguards to keep them protected.

Don’t try to handle all of your cybersecurity in-house either, especially if your business is brand new and you have little to no experience with managing data. Clients expect you to keep their information confidential and safe against leaks — if you don’t, your reputation could take a serious hit.

Work with cybersecurity specialists to assess your vulnerability and take action to defend your data. The Driz Group’s experts are here to:

• give your business a free vulnerability assessment

• identify weaknesses in your cybersecurity

• protect your cloud and on-premise environments

• reduce your business’s danger of a data breach

Want to learn more about our managed services and how they help companies just like yours every single day? Just get in touch with our dedicated teamright now!