EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
Smartphones make us stronger, faster, smarter and better (at nearly everything). They give us extraordinary capabilities and clear advantages, many of which make us feel like the earth’s mightiest heroes. Smartphones render us capable of contending with such a range of circumstantial emergencies, at work or at home, that we can’t venture beyond a few paces without our smart sidekick.
On the surface, at least to some, smartphones almost seem to break the laws of nature. They allow for multi-person video meetings with colleagues who are separated by three oceans and in five time-zones. Commercial transactions can occur in 135 different currencies, in under 3 seconds, across hundreds of different apps, helping businesses master new verticals at a breathtaking rate. Smartphones arguably allow us to make almost anything happen from anywhere in the world – in real-time.
Yet, despite the exhilaratingly powerful, indispensable, and seemingly endless possibilities afforded by phones, their invincibility and constant availability (and ours by extension), is something of an illusion. Like any well-developed superhero sidekick, mobile devices are vastly more complicated than they appear on the surface and vastly more vulnerable.
Zero day threats
In the last year, reports have documented a whopping 466% increase in zero day attacks on mobile devices. If you’re wondering about what this means, a quick translation is that your business’s dynamic, fast-paced growth journey could end abruptly; twisting your reality by cutting off opportunities at a moment’s notice.
Last month, Apple urged its user-base to immediately install certain patches pertaining to zero day threats that could hypothetically disrupt phones’ functionalities and the lives of their owners. The vulnerabilities could have provided hackers with full control over devices, including access to properties and platforms with the potential to jeopardize people or organizations.
Given their potential to engender serious sabotage, zero day attacks on mobile devices are under-discussed. Zero day attacks on mobile devices can result in unexpected network traffic, cyber espionage, intellectual property theft, extortion and other cyber perils. The adverse impact of a zero day attack (or attacks) can crush a business like an asteroid smashing into a spacecraft.
As businesses race to become more digital and more mobile-first, zero day attacks are liable to grow in number. Nearly 60% of cyber security professionals are concerned about zero day threats on mobile devices. Here’s what else you should know…
Mobile device security
While it’s not possible to mitigate 100% zero day threats, it is possible to take the right precautions, which can limit vulnerabilities across the entirety of your business threat landscape and ecosystem.
Protecting mobile devices from zero day attacks is critical in order for your employees to maintain continuous connectivity, and for your business to continually remain both productive and profitable.
New eBook
In a new eBook, discover information about the latest zero day attacks on mobile devices, dynamic industry trends, prevention methodologies, and how cyber security vendors, like Check Point, can assist.
Learn about in-depth security strategies that can stop cyber criminals from using mobile device zero day vulnerabilities to hack into your networks, steal your data, alienate your customers, force sudden drops in revenue, and cause millions of dollars worth of major damages.
Ready to read the eBook? Get the eBook here.
Lastly, to receive more timely cyber security news, top-tier reports and cutting-edge analyses, please sign up for the cybertalk.org newsletter.
The post How to prevent sneaky zero day attacks on fleets of smartphones appeared first on CyberTalk.
Leer másCyberTalk
