One of the most disturbing things in the world of smartphones today is the risk of attack by cybercriminals. Smartphones are advanced computing devices that are used to store and carry sensitive personal info such as business documents, bank passwords, and financial history. Unlike in the past when cybercriminals mainly targeted your desktops unworkable, it is different today. Cybercriminals want to lock your phone data or steal it to siphon credit cards balance.
The most stressful cyber-attacks are perhaps from the latest strains of ransomware such as DataLust that targets stealing smartphone data and selling it on the black market if you fail to pay a ransom. Notably, the cybercriminals are advancing as fast as smartphone technologies. Is there a way you can keep yourself and the smartphone free from cyber attacks? Here are some 4 tips you should employ to remain secure all the time.
Start by picking phones made by a company that works tirelessly to keep users safe
The security of your smartphone and data stores in it starts with the type of phone you pick. Well, this is a battle that you cannot win alone. Top companies such as Apple take a lot of time vetting all associated apps during processing and deployment. In fact, before releasing any version of associated apps, the company tests it in multiple scenarios and even releases a Beta version to evaluate vulnerabilities. Therefore, associated phones such as iPhone 7 have been remarkably secure.
Another company that stops at nothing in ensuring that all its phones and associated apps are extra secure is Google. Though it uses Android that has demonstrated a lot of vulnerabilities, rarely are cyber-attacks associated with its devices such as the Pixel smartphone.
Ensure to use a complex PIN and passcode to protect the device against theft
Often, people get tempted to remove phone and pin password because the smartphone is a personal device. But this puts them at a great risk of attack. In some of the cases, the danger comes from your colleagues. The phone can also be stolen and your data accessed for malicious activities. It is, therefore, advisable to always have a password and pin that cannot be cracked easily. Even if the phone gets stolen, the thief will have to go through the pin and passcode before accessing data. This can buy you time to catch the thief or fully lock/delete the data with the help of the service provider.
Do not jailbreak your phone
When companies put restrictions on their operating systems, one of the main targets is ensuring users get better security. However, users have taken to jailbreaking their phones to clear some restrictions associated with specific manufacturers. But this opens the phone to serious malware attacks. If you want a phone with more features and capabilities, the best thing is looking for a more advanced model.
Back up your phone data
One thing that cyber experts agree today is that the risk of attack remains very high for all people with smartphones. The truth is that you cannot be 100% secure. In fact, the dangers loom from cyber criminals as well colleagues at work. With this in mind, the reality is that if you have not been attacked, an attacker is on the way. Therefore, be smart and back up your data. This is simple, easy, and very cheap. In case the info on the phone gets locked, there will be a backup to fall back to. Remember that this should be done right away and not latter.