Phone or foe?

The landscape of cyber threats changes daily, with hackers coming up with new advanced ways to make their lucrative living at your expense.

While you are making sure you are keeping your computer secure, office hygiene is second nature and the shredder at work and home is your best friend. Is that all for nothing if you are not securing your mobile device?

The answer is yes. These days, the information that is on your computer is usually linked to your phone; email, bank details and other personal information. Is this making your phone your new worst enemy? It doesn’t have to be.

I know it seems crazy that cellphones can now be hacked, but something to remember is that anything that connects to the internet is vulnerable to being breached. All aspects of your cyber life need to be secure because if one isn’t, the security for the others will be futile.

If you take the best practices you use on your computer, you are less likely to fall victim to an attack.

Don’t keep any personal information such as account numbers or passwords in the note pad or anywhere on your device.

Hackers use malware to gain access or steal data off your phone through similar techniques used on your computer such as an infected links, this time through SMS or a Whatsapp message, hidden in apps that you unknowingly download and through unsecure Wi-Fi you connect to. They can also get your details should they breach an app company that have your personal information from when you signed up to use it.

Make sure your GPS, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth is disabled when not in use. Sophisticated hackers can gain access without your knowledge through these antenna’s.

Another way you can be cyber safe on your cellphone is by installing threat protection to safeguard against the malware and viruses. Get in contact with J2 Software and we can help you get the best solutions setup for your phone and network to help curb your worry.

Make sure the security of your cellphone is as much of a priority as the security of your computer and networks, if those are not priorities already, you are in big trouble and need to relook at how you view cyber security. It is a NEED.

Let’s get real.

Olivia-Hannah Coetzee