 How Safe Are Smart Phones? By Sean Breslin

Can We Trust Our Phones?  Our cell phone, for most of us, is always by our side  If it is always with us, does that mean it deserves our trust?  We shouldn’t trust such a device no matter how often we may need it. We now need to take preemptive strikes in order to defend ourselves from our phones.

Smart Phone (Mobile) Operating Systems  Apple  iOS 6 and 7  Android  Jellybean  Microsoft  Windows MOS

Process To Publish an App ItunesVSGoogle Play 24 hours to get proper Certifications 1 hour to complete certifications Numerous checks for security and compatibility Checked during hour long process Hard to make, Extremely hard to publish Hard to make, VERY EASY TO PUBLISH

Apple  Apple only lets you download applications and content that has been preapproved  Content from online can’t be downloaded  Apps found online can’t be downloaded

Android  Android allows any video, link, app, or program to be downloaded  Unidentified developers applications will download without a hassle  This allows for anyone to make a potentially harmful application

Mobile App Hacking  This is a fairly uncommon style of hacking but it is highly effective and when done right can access an unbelievable amount of information  This process is done by a developer making a bogus app that the user thinks is a game or utility, when really it is a gateway for a hacker

App Hacking continued  Once a user has downloaded an app, the developer now has full access to you phone  This doesn’t just mean they have access to your phone, this means they can also remotely control it  This is easy to do on android because you can download almost anything to an android device, where an apple has to many checks for faulty applications to be downloadable

Most Common Style Of Cell Hacking  The most common form of cellular phone hacking is data transfer interception  This is where a hacker intercepts all outgoing and incoming calls, texts, and even data from browsing  This Process is most commonly completed with a femtocell

Femtocell  A femtocell is a wireless network extender  Can be bought at best buy or online for $100-$300  The wireless network extender is compromised and turned into a controllable cell phone tower  Once compromised, it allows the hacker to view any information going in and out of the tower

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How to fight back  To best fight off an attack, a user should download mobile security software  The mobile software can be incorporated into your settings but more often is an application on your phone

Most Common Security Applications  1. McAfee Mobile Security 2.0  2. Bitdefender  3. F-Secure Mobile Security 7.6  These apps will scan pages and browsers to detect any potentially harmful links or pages

Conclusion  Be careful of what you put in your phone  Almost always assume that you aren't the only one viewing these messages or calls  If it seems shady, It probably is for a good reason

What did we learn?  It is better to spend a small amount on mobile security software now, than to spend thousands trying to get vital information back