Computer and Mobile Device
Security Threats
Paul S. Castillo
Introduction
• Linking communities and dissolving geographic boundaries.
• New avenues for crime and fraud.
Literature Review
Advancements in digital technologies have altered many aspects of
Philippine society. The impressive economic growth from 2010–2020
was parallel to tremendous advances in digital technologies, opening
opportunities in new sectors. The opportunities from digital
innovations were accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic as
limitations on mobility prompted citizens to accelerate migration to
digital spaces[1]. Recent years have shown a significant increase in the
popularity and ubiquity of mobile devices among users all around the
globe[2] Mobile devices are treated by their users as very personal
tools, mainly used to facilitate everyday operations, but they also
serve to store very sensitive personal information[3].
Security
versus
Theory Concept
Discussion
• The worldwide information security market is forecast to reach
$170.4 billion in 2022 (3)
1) Data leakage: 71% of breaches were motivated by financial
aspect and 25% by espionage
2) Malware or malicious software: among most malicious e-mail
attachments are .doc and .dot which make 37%, and the
second highest is .exe
3) Phishing and social engineering: 62% of business experienced
this type of attack in 2018
P. Weichbroth and Ł. Łysik
Discussion
4) Direct hacker attack: data breaches exposed 4.1 billion
records in the first half of 2019
5) Intercepting communication: hackers globally attack every
39 seconds which makes, on average, 2244 times per day
6) Stolen and lost phones: by 2020, the estimated number of
passwords used by users will grow to 3000 billion
7) User behavior: 64% of Americans have never checked to see
if they were affected by data breach
Discussion
• According to Kaspersky Resource Center (Top 7 Mobile
Device Threats)
1) Data Leakage
2) Unsecured Wi-Fi
3) Network Spoofing
4) Phishing Attacks
5) Spyware
6) Broken Cryptography
7) Improper Session Handling
Discussion
•
Y. Murat, Y. Yalman, Security Threats on
Mobile Devices and their Effects:
Estimations for the Future, International
Journal of Security and Its Applications
Conclusion
Security is always an arms race between
attackers and defenders. Since the mobile
application market is growing, at the same
time, mobile security will continue to
deliver a plethora of issues to face.
Recommendations
1) Make user authentication the highest priority.
2) Update mobile operating systems and on-board
applications with security patches.
3) Back up user data on a regular basis.
4) Utilize encryption.
5) Enable remote data wipe.
6) Disable Bluetooth and Wi-Fi when not needed.
7) Be aware of social engineering techniques.
Recommendations
8) Be sure not to jailbreak your device.
9) Be sure not to grant unnecessary permissions to
applications.
10) Install mobile security and antivirus applications.
References
• Cybersecurity in the Philippines: Global Context and Local
Challenges A Report by Secure Connections-An Initiative of The Asia
Foundation 2022
• Statista, Smartphones—Statistics & Facts, Statista, Hamburg,
Germany, 2020, https://www.statista.com/topics/840/
smartphones/.
• A. Papageorgiou, M. Strigkos, E. Politou, E. Alepis, A. Solanas, and C.
Patsakis, “Security and privacy analysis of mobile health
applications: the alarming state of practice,” IEEE Access, vol. 6, pp.
9390–9403, 2018.
References
• E. Kim, D. Gardner, S. Deshpande, R. Contu, D. Kish, and C. Canales,
“Forecast analysis: information security, worldwide, 2Q18 update,”
2020, https://www.gartner.com/ en/documents/3889055.
• Y. Murat, Y. Yalman, Security Threats on Mobile Devices and their
Effects: Estimations for the Future, International Journal of Security and
Its Applications Vol. 10, No. 2 (2016), pp.13-26
• P. Weichbroth and Ł. Łysik, Mobile Security: Threats and Best Practices,
Hindawi Mobile Information Systems Volume 2020, Article ID 8828078,
15 pages
• N. Thompson, TJ McGill, X Wang, “Security Begins at Home”:
Determinants of home computer and mobile device security behavior
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cose.2017.07.003
Salamat!