The rise of WFH culture brought increased productivity and higher job satisfaction, but it also brought with itself an increased vulnerability to security breaches. Working remotely increases the chances of individuals using unsecure networks and being unaware of security risks in their work surroundings.
Any device or network with weak mobile security protocols could expose businesses to wide risks like data and identity theft, financial losses, and legal consequences. Therefore, knowing and adopting best practices for mobile security is more crucial than ever for every business.
What is Mobile Security?
A University of York article describes mobile security as, “Mobile security is the term used for the various measures that protect mobile devices – such as smartphones and tablets, as well as their data and their associated networks – from unauthorized access or other forms of cyberattack.”
Mobile security is protecting professional and personal data from various threats and cyber-attacks that are stored on and transmitted by mobile and portable devices such as laptops, smartphones, tablets, etc.
Best Practices for Mobile Security
Mobile security is a component of an overall digital security strategy, which is designed to protect portable devices such as smartphones and tablets against cyber threats. Businesses can suffer some serious threats and major losses because of mobile security risks. Here are some ways to minimize these threats.
Regular software updates
Be sure that all the apps on your phone and the operating system are up to date. The chances of being hacked increase substantially by using outdated software. By releasing security updates frequently, OS companies remain ahead of security flaws as these updates include security patches for new threats and vulnerabilities.
Use strong passwords and a password manager
The simplest yet effective step for stronger mobile network security is implementing strong and unique passwords for all accounts. Using two-factor authentication can also provide an extra layer of security. As updating passwords becomes mandatory and remembering many passwords is an extremely error-prone practice, a password manager can solve all these problems. It can save passwords for various accounts and can also help in generating a stronger password to heighten security.
Encryption
Encryption is extremely essential to save sensitive data from data privacy and data theft attacks. By using encryption, readable data is transformed into an unreadable form which makes it difficult to decode.
Secure Wi-Fi connections
Using networks outside of your organization increases the possibility of a cyber-attack exponentially. All the personal and private information like passwords, sensitive documents, credit card numbers, etc. can be easily intercepted by attackers. One should avoid using public Wi-Fi and networks for accessing and transferring sensitive data. In the worst event, if it becomes necessary, using a VPN to access public networks can help safeguard and encrypt online activities.
Use reliable resources for downloading
Make sure the apps you download are safe to install by reading user reviews and permissions and only download them from reputable stores like the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. It is never advisable to download any kind of file, software, or resource from the internet via unreliable third-party platforms. This can significantly raise the likelihood of a malware attack.
MDM and MAM
Any company that permits mobile device access to corporate data must implement mobile device management and mobile application management. The purpose of MDM is to give the company the power to impose security compliance rules on devices. Administrators can guarantee that devices are safe and receive the necessary assistance with the help of MDM. Similarly, configuring, keeping an eye on, and controlling the applications on those devices is known as mobile application management. Combining MDM and MAM can result in strong security solutions that block unwanted devices from accessing the data and applications on your company network.
Corporate and BYOD remote lock and device wipe policies
Having strict remote lock and data wipe guidelines is essential for businesses that have a BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) policy. In line with these guidelines, in a situation of device loss, the company may either remotely wipe the mobile device or disable access to prevent data loss.
