Today, mobile devices play a critical role in business. You and your employees probably us smartphones for everything from scheduling to receiving incoming documents that we need to access while on the go. Because all information that passes through a mobile device may be compromised, your company needs to have a mobile security strategy in place to protect your company assets.

Cybercriminals attack mobile devices in three primary ways to access your company data. These include:

  • Accessing data through the mobile device’s communication points,
  • Exploiting hardware weaknesses in the mobile phone’s setup, and
  • Accessing data through software application vulnerabilities

If these cybercriminal access points look familiar to you, it may be because these are the same ways that hackers also access your computers. A smartphone is basically a computer, and what goes for your desktop or laptop also goes for your mobile device.

Securing your company’s mobile devices is not unlike home security. You want to take a walk around the perimeter, or in this case, look at all the points of access where a hacker may exploit an opening to get in, and then develop a strategy to keep them out.

First, you want to consider all the ways a hacker can get in through standard communication. These include:

  • Texts (SMS);
  • Multi-media messaging (MMS) – this allows you to send anything that is not text, including images;
  • Bluetooth;
  • Wi-fi; and
  • Mobile service carrier networks

All of these points may be used by a hacker to access your company’s mobile devices. Your strategy needs to address these five points of entry.

Second, look at software application points of entry. These include:

  • The devices operating system (Android, IOS, Windows);
  • Web browser (Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Edge, Opera, Internet Explorer);
  • Applications

A hacker can invade mobile devices using these ports of entry. Your mobile security strategy must address these points of entry, and include all operating systems. For instance, if you have multiple employees using Android phones, but have other employees using IOS, your strategy needs to cover both.

Third, you must consider hardware attack points. Hackers can easily buy a device that costs less than $100 and walk through a conference building and steal contents from a mobile device. They do not need direct access to the device to do this. Proximity is the only requirement, and if you consider how often you and your employees freely move around throughout the day outside of your office, this makes jacking mobile device data extremely easy.

OT Computers has been developing mobile security strategies for Atlanta small- to mid-sized professional services firms nearly 20 years. We can help you create a customized strategy that will help you keep your company assets safe and minimize downtime from hacked mobile devices. Give us a call today at (678) 789-0629 and we will be happy to work with you to develop a stringent mobile security strategy.