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What’s on Your Phone? A Lot More than You Realize.

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It’s funny to me that when having conversations about technology people still don’t see the parallel between their smartphone and their computer.

Today, smartphone are connected to the Internet and have much of the same information as the personal computer, if not more. Now Androids and other smartphones have become little mini handheld computers. Carriers are announcing that they’ll be upping the speed of the latest version of their networks, doubling download speeds. And new smartphones will have as much as 64 gigabytes of capacity. That’s more hard drive than my three-year old laptop.

For the next generation of users, the smartphone is replacing the PC as their primary device. Nielsen reports, “We are just at the beginning of a new wireless era where smartphones will become the standard device consumers will use to connect to friends, the internet and the world at large. The share of smartphones as a proportion of overall device sales has increased 29% for phone purchasers in the last six months; and 45% of respondents indicated that their next device will be a smartphone.”

For many of us, your mobile device has already become like your right hand (in my case, my left hand). Not only is it your phone, but it’s used to store some of your most private conversations and confidential information—it’s now your address/phone book, email, digital camera, news source, online banking system and even your wallet—all rolled into one device.

With all this invaluable data and information, and the growth in smartphones and tablets, it’s natural for criminal hackers to see these new devices as a huge opportunity, much like they did with the PC.

So if you have a smartphone or tablet, make sure you take steps to protect yourself.

Never leave your phone unattended in a public place

Put a password on your mobile and set your phone to auto-lock after a certain period of time

When doing online banking and shopping, always log out and don’t select the “remember me” function

Use mobile device protection that provides anti-theft, anti-malware/antivirus, app protection and web protection. McAfee makes this easy with McAfee All Access, a single software solution to protect all of your devices or you can use McAfee Mobile Security to protect your smartphone or tablet.

 

Robert Siciliano is an Online Security Expert to McAfee. He is the author of 99 Things You Wish You Knew Before Your Mobile was Hacked!  (Disclosures)

What is Contactless Technology?

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“Contactless” refers to technology embedded in a personal device — typically a mobile phone, key fob, credit card, or access card — that transmits your data to another device from a distance of a few inches in order to complete a transaction.

Transactions involving data transfer have traditionally involved plastic cards with a magnetic stripe or some type of a bar code. And while these technologies remain commonly used, the migration to contactless is well underway, for a number of reasons:

  1. Contactless tends to be a more secure data transfer method. Classic credit cards often contain sensitive yet unencrypted data, stored in plain text in magnetic stripes that can be compromised by various skimming devices.
  2. Contactless technology can handle more data. Devices equipped for contactless transactions contain a small chip, which stores user data and has a vastly greater capacity than a traditional magnetic stripe.
  3. Contactless technology is far more versatile than the payment technology it replaces. Relying on a plastic card and magnetic stripe limit your transaction options, whereas contactless technology can be used to store data in a variety of different devices, from a plastic card to a mobile phone to just about any type of product.
  4. Contactless transactions are more convenient. We’re all accustomed to producing one card or another to make a purchase or access a restricted building or other area. But carrying all those cards around requires a wallet. And frankly, wallets are cumbersome and bulky. I long for the day when my mobile phone is the only device I need, containing everything I need to get anywhere and buy anything.

When your bank, employer, or local public transportation system rolls out contactless technology, embrace it. Before long, it will without a doubt be the preferred method for the majority of our daily transactions.

Robert Siciliano, personal security expert contributor to Just Ask Gemalto. Disclosures

Are Tablets Just As Vulnerable As Mobile Phones?

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With unit sales of smartphones and tablets eclipsing those of desktop and notebook PCs, cybercriminals will continue setting their sights on mobile, and increased mobile Internet use will continue exacerbating security and data breach issues.

McAfee Labs™ points out today’s tablets are more powerful than notebooks were just a few years ago. Although their lack of real keyboards makes them unsuitable for many tasks (editing texts, programming, and design), they are very suitable for browsing the Web, which today is a primary source of malware.

You do need to view tablet computers separately from mobile phones. Tablets mainly differ in the size of the screen, but they share the same software, operating systems, and processors so their security concerns are nearly identical. About the only difference is that some tablets can use USB devices, which increases the attack surface of such devices.

And because like our mobile phone, tablets tend to be portable and one of our most personal computing devices, you need to take steps to protect it. Many of the best practices you use on your computer can be transferred to your tablet.

To help ensure that your tablet is protected, you should:

Always password protect your device and set it to auto-lock after a certain period of time to increase your mobile security

Never leave your tablet unattended in a public place

Don’t click on links on emails and text messages from people you don’t know

Even if you know the company or person, use a browser to search for a link or use the company’s official app to navigate to the site

Always double-check the web address of a site when doing a search on your mobile phone.

If you use online banking and shopping sites, always log out and don’t select the “remember me” function

Before downloading a third-party app, check other users’ reviews to see if it is safe, and read the app’s privacy policy to make sure that it is not sharing your personal information

Use comprehensive mobile security software like McAfee Mobile Security which include antivirus, anti-theft, web protection, privacy protection and call and text filtering. If you have multiple notebooks, netbooks, smartphone and tablets, McAfee All Access provides security for all your devices and helps keep all your stuff safe whenever and wherever you connect.

Robert Siciliano is an Online Security Evangelist to McAfee. Watch him discussing information he found on used electronic devices YouTube. (Disclosures)

Mobile Phones Being Hacked and Cloned

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Cloning occurs when hackers scan the airwaves to obtain SIM card information, electronic serial numbers and mobile identification numbers, and then using that data on other phones.

Cloning can happen anywhere, anytime that you’re using your phone. The bad guy simply uses an interceptor, hardware, and software to make a phone exactly like yours.

A few years ago, I was in San Diego on business. Two weeks later I received a call from my carrier alerting me to $1500.00 worth of international calls I had not made. The activity triggered an alert within their system and they shut my account down.

Fortunately for me, my carrier recognized the fraud and relieved me of the charges, rather than me discovering it and having to fight to reverse the charges. Apparently, it was a known issue that scammers in Tijuana were cloning U.S.-based phones.

Anita Davis, another mobile clone victim, wasn’t so lucky. One month, her cell phone bill showed $3,151 worth of calls in one month, to Pakistan, Israel, Jordan, Africa, and other countries. Anita called her carrier immediately and told them she didn’t know anyone in those countries, or anyone outside the U.S. for that matter. She says, “They told me I had to have directly dialed these numbers from my cell phone and I needed to make a payment arrangement or they would send my bill to collections.” After begging and pleading, Anita convinced them to drop the charges.

The extent of your vulnerability varies depending on your phone and the network you’re on. Cloning mobile phones is becoming increasingly difficult, but consumers can’t do anything to prevent it from happening. The best way to mitigate the damage is to watch your statements closely. The moment you see an uptick in charges, contact your carrier and dispute the calls.

Robert Siciliano, personal security expert contributor to Just Ask Gemalto, discusses mobile phone spyware on Good Morning America. (Disclosures)