Hi-tech heightens risks among mobile phone users – Experts

by Dayo Oketola

mobile phone

Personal and sensitive data stored on mobile devices, leave users open to threats from hackers and other perpetrators of fraudulent cyber activities. 

Security experts have warned that mobile phone users, numbering over 99 million in the country (Nigeria Communications Commission figures), are at risk of losing personal and sensitive data to theft and hackers as threats targeted at mobile devices increase in 2012.

This, they say, poses a great threat to the country’s economy, considering the volume of data Small and Medium Enterprises store on mobile phones, plus the huge volume of transactions being done via the mobile phone daily.

The Head, Mobile Business Development, Assurant Solutions, Mr. Nino Treusch, said a recent independent study showed that mobile device owners failed to take even the most basic precautions to protect their smartphones from fraudulent activities and misuse.

He explained that device theft, identity theft and violation of personal information would continue to be some of the security concerns for cell-phone owners.

He said, “The vast amount of personal and sensitive data we all store on our smartphones leaves us open to threats such as hacking and theft by organised crime and opportunists. While insurance protection can offer peace of mind should our privacy be compromised, it is clear from our research that many mobile owners are failing to take even the most basic measures to protect their devices and the data stored on them.”

According to him, the research shows that haphazard approach to mobile device protection (also noticed among Nigerian mobile phone users) may be because many people believe that mobile phone theft will never happen to them.

He said 32 per cent of the people surveyed believed that mobile phone theft would never happen to them; 53 per cent claimed to be too careful with their phones to worry about the risks; while 36 per cent said they would simply replace their SIM or handset should it be damaged or lost.

“The latter, in particular, indicates a worrying lack of awareness as to the physical value of the device itself, let alone the data it contains, and demonstrates a need to educate consumers about the very real risks they face,” Treusch said.

In the same vein, the Managing Director, Digital Encode, an indigenous information security service provider, Mr. Adewale Obadare, agreed with Treusch. He lamented the exposure caused by the fact that only a few mobile users in Nigeria protect their mobile phones with a password. He said many took no security measures at all.

He said the mobile phone had become an integral part of life in Nigeria with the country’s active subscribers getting entertainment, information and learning via their mobile phones.

As such, he called for a massive subscriber enlightenment by the NCC, telecoms operators, cash-less policy stakeholders and others in order to forestall the increasing threats against the mobile phone.

According to the Symantec Internet Security Threat Report released in April 2012, Nigeria ranks 59th globally in Internet threats, moving up six positions, while the United States was the top country of origin for attacks, accounting for 35.6 per cent of all attacks detected by Symantec sensors.

Symantec’s Territory Manager, Indian Ocean Islands, West, East and Central Africa, Mr. Sheldon Hand, said that increasing threats on countries was in part due to broadband Internet, penetration of mobile devices and a booming economy.

He said the sale of smartphones and mobile money transfers gained traction, mobile malware would present a tangible threat to enterprises and consumers if steps were not taken to safeguard the systems and devices.

According to him, the threats targeted at mobile devices are going to be on the increase in 2012.

He said, “While profits remain lucrative in the Personal Computer space, mobile offers new opportunities to cybercriminals that potentially are more profitable. Mobile phones also create an urgent concern for organisations on the possibility of breaches.

“Given the intertwining of work and personal information on mobile devices, the loss of confidential information presents a real risk to businesses. And unlike a desktop computer, or even a laptop, mobile devices are easily lost.”

In view of this, he advocated robust corporate governance in the Information Technology sector as a requirement to effectively tackle security risks and threats.

Meanwhile, industry experts have been warning users that identity theft would be the number one crime globally, with smartphone hacking being expected to be among the top growing twists to this crime.

In view of this, they have advised users to lock down their smartphone, saying the mobile phone is essentially a one-stop shop for data and, if stolen or exposed to thieves, could compromise users’ identity and financial accounts.

“Even if you don’t use mobile banking or financial apps, your phone could store sensitive data from online shopping, social networking and more. An unsecured phone poses a major security risk that is vulnerable everywhere you go,” experts who write on idtheftrampage.com said.

On how users can protect their data from identity thieves by securing their mobile phones, they urged them to protect their phones with complex and unique passwords and set their phones to auto-lock.

They also advised users to turn the Bluetooth device off if they are not using it, explaining.

“Be careful on Wi-Fi networks, another channel for thieves to remotely access your data undetected. Only connect your phone to secure networks with passwords. Before downloading any apps to your phone, always do a quick search to make sure it comes from a legitimate site or publisher.”

Mobile users have also been advised to subscribe to a remote tracking service that can remotely lock the phones and erase their data in the event of a stolen phone.

An indigenous Information Technology firm, TracknShield Ltd., recently said it had developed an anti-theft solution in this regard.

The Managing Director, TracknShield Ltd., Mr. Abu Grema, said once installed on a mobile phone, the solution would make it possible for the owner of the phone to trace its whereabouts through a text message in the event that the phone was lost.

Grema added that even if the SIM card in the phone was removed, the software would also make it possible for the phone to be traced and also prevent a new SIM card from working with the stolen or lost phone.

He stated that because of their growing sophistication, phones had, therefore, become the platforms on which many users transacted a lot of businesses, such as funds transfer. He noted that this had made it very important for people to protect phones and data contained therein.