The Impact of Mobile Devices on Cyber-security - Coursework Example

The Impact of Mobile Devices on Cyber-security Introduction The term mobile devices refers to cellphones, I pads and iPods. It also includes PDAs and e-Readers. These devices act as connectors of the outside world, and often used for navigating, shopping as well as social networking. They are also used for banking in addition to business purposes. Majority of the people however fail to remember that these devices are gateways for hackers. According to Certic (2013, p.1), “Mobile devices can be used by a hacker as an access point into many other aspects of your digital life as well the lives of others in your network, making mobile security about more than just protecting your phone.” Although the use and acceptance of mobile technology has advanced significantly, it started being used by most of the world in early 1980s. A research that was carried out by Gartner, a research firm, shows that the worldwide smartphones sales increase yearly by about 45%. Tablet shipments on the other hand are more than 17.4 million units in the whole world (Friedman & Hoffman, 2008). By 2013, over 80% of the people in the whole world were using mobile phones and currently the number of mobile devices in the world exceeds 6 billion. In connection to this, the paper will expound on the impact of mobile devices on cyber-security. Incidence of cyber attacks Today almost all people carry mobile phones as well as computers that are significantly faster than desktop computers that were used in the past. These devices not only enable people to get in touch with each other, but also allow them to telework from their respective homes. Since mobile phones as well as tablets are used key to an individual’s identity, hackers can use them as a channel to getting to other devices. In other words, the hacks could lead to attacks on an individual’s devices as well as devices of any other person connected on the same network as the first hacked device. The most common hacking method involves forwarding the network traffic directed by the control server to other different hosts in the network if the mobile device is linked to an internal Wi-Fi (Logan, 2011). Essentially, if a person fall victim to this type of attack, he or she exposes attackers to their entire digital life and that of any person connected to his or her network. According to Certic (2013), Worms as well as Man-in-the –Middle attacks are also examples of threats that enable hackers use one mobile device to access other devices. According to Johnson (2012, p.2), “six out of every 10 cyber security breaches occur as a result of a mobile device.” In justifying this he asserts that in the year 2011 malware targeting smartphones increased by 155 percent, and within a span of seven months the volume of malware that was targeting Android phones had increased to 3,325%. He further asserts that cyber criminals target mobile devices because mobile malware is highly profitable. He also claims that the profits made from the mobile devices attract talented programmers to the dark part of cyber-crime networks. The result of this is the generation of new mobile malware that is extremely sophisticated. The diversion of cyber criminals’ interest to mobile devices is also as a result of billions of people using their smartphones in storing sensitive information like banking and credit-card data. According to Johnson, this storage leads to cyber-criminals to target these devices with mobile applications referred to as “Trojan horse” which resemble legitimate applications. Unfortunately, downloading such a program to one’s mobile phone leads to automatic transmission of confidential data from the unsuspecting user’s mobile phone (device) to a cyber-criminal’s server. In addition to this, some criminals have advanced this criminal act by building whole fake storefronts of mobile applications. Mobile devices in cooperate environments In the past mobile phones were considered tools for making phone calls. But with the advancement in technology (developments in hardware and software), the use of mobile phones have expanded significantly. Currently they are used in sending messages, checking mails, storing contacts along other functions. The connectivity of the mobile phones has also advanced; currently they have 3G, 4G and WLAN connectivity. As a result of this advancement, mobile phones are currently used in bank transactions as well as stocking trade. In connection to this, it is evident that issues of mobile security are not only diverted to individuals, organizations are also falling victim of this type of crime (Robinson, 2011). Security concerns are currently in rise in areas such as banks and health care industry. They are also in rise in governmental applications, military organization and educational organizations. Hackers have successfully managed to access private and confidential information about organizations and retrieve sensitive data. According to Johnson (2012), managers are experiencing many challenges from cyber-criminals making cyber-crime a reality to them. Few years ago, it was very easy for organizations to install specific software as well as security features to protect the data stored on their computers. However, the increased introduction of advanced mobile devices to store organization information has led to many organizations’ challenges. Currently, hackers have diverted their attention to mobile devices so as to access organizational data. Often there are several issues pertaining security in such industries with one weak gateway referred to as password. Currently, most systems employ static passwords in authenticating a user’s identity. However, such passwords result to management of security concerns after being exploited by hackers. According to Kelly (2007), organizations are not supposed to do away with their personal computers with smartphones. To justify this, he claims that PCs have been the main focus for hackers for many years. With this in mind, organizations managed to invests extensively in effective security software in order to safeguard their information. To-date, the changing of the security system of the devices with the introduction of malware in the market has made organizations to successfully overcome the threats of the cyber-criminals. The introduction of the mobile phone devices, regrettably, results to numberless threats to organizations (Lemon, 2013). This is as a result of lack of any security software to protect data stored in smartphones and other mobile devices. Additionally, Kelly asserts that smartphones are currently replacing personal computers day per day because of their speed and ability to perform all tasks as desktop computers do (Kelly, 2007). Unfortunately, the use of smartphones in performing organizational functions will result to too many security issues because of the inexistence of security measures to curb security breaches. Thus, it is advisable for organizations not to substitute desktop computers with smartphones in the name of saving on expenses. Managing cyber-security Cyber-security is an area of concern currently; it is suffering from numberless threats which need to be addressed. According to Lin (2012), cyber-attacks expose the world to another type of war that need to be controlled before it goes out of hand. Protecting point of access as well as vulnerability provided by mobile devices will aid significantly in enhancing cyber security. Since it is not possible to bar individuals from using their respective mobile devices, it is crucial for individuals as well as organizations to take amicable steps in preventing attacks. According to Friedman and Hoffman (2008), mobile devices such as laptops and mobile phones are the most abused devices by hackers compared to personal computers. Thus, it is advisable for companies and mobile device users to employ the best preventive measures in overcoming attacks. Some of the threats that are very common to mobile devices are malware as well as hacking to personal data. As a result of this, it is advisable for users to adopt strategies such as traffic monitoring so as to curb security threat. Monitoring of traffic will enable the users of mobile devices to detect any suspicious activity from their devices. It is also crucial for mobile device users to not only ensure the devices they buy have up-to-date security features like file encryptions, but also have installed intrusion to monitor any malicious activities in their devices’ networks. The intrusion prevention software identifies suspicious activity in addition to acquiring log in information of the unauthorized user. Conclusion The war against cybercrimes is real and need to be taken seriously. Mobile devices need to be protected very well in order to minimize the occurrence of cybercrimes. Mobile devices such as smartphones are the most abused by hackers, thus, they need not to be used in storing organizations’ information. Organizations should employ the use of cloud computing in addition to personal computers in order to minimize the cases of cyber-attacks. References Certic, S. (2013). The Future of Mobile Security. Retrieved from http://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/1302/1302.4201.pdf Friedman, J. & Hoffman, D. (2008). Protecting data on mobile devices. Information knowledge systems management. Vol. 7; 159-180 Johnson, K. (2012). CIOs must address the growing mobile security threat. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/ciocentral/2012/08/16/cios-must-address-the-growing- mobile-device-security-threat/ Kelly, C. (2007). Being smart about smart phones. Computerworld. Vol. 41(7); 34 Lemon, R. (2013). Hackers attack mobile phones. Popular Science. Vol. 282 (1): 40-41 Logan, K. (2011). Mobile devices pose new security hazards. PC world. Vol. 29(4): 33-34 Robinson, A. (2011). Tackling global cyber security threats. Georgia institute of technology publication.6 Read More