Treat your phone like a PC? Then you’ll need to consider viruses
Since I was about 11, when I first migrated from a BBC Micro to a PC running Windows (I guess I’m showing my age), I have gotten used to running anti-virus software to protect both the computer and myself.
In fact, we’re all used to doing this. It’s something that Windows constantly drums into us and most of us use additional security programmes such as McAfee or Kaspersky.
But when it comes to our mobile phones, most of us don’t bother. I have to admit that before I began investigating mobile phone security, I never considered what security precautions I should be taking on my phone.
As our report discovered, the number of attacks by hackers on mobile phones has exploded over the past year, driven by the increasing number of us who use smart phones such as the iPhone, Android or BlackBerry.
Smart phones are essentially computers that we carry around in our pockets and in many cases the information on them is more sensitive than on our PCs. My smart phone has access to emails going back to 2003, access to many of my personal documents and of course many personal photographs.
Now while an opportunist thief might have difficulty accessing the phone as I have a very long security code to unlock, if I was unlucky enough to have a virus on it, then I might not be so lucky.
Virus threat
The viruses we’ve been shown work by inserting malicious code onto smart phones when you click on a weblink. Bearing in mind that many of us share links using URL shorteners like Bit.ly, we often don’t know the true web address of a website we are about to visit until too late.
As you’ll see on Channel 4 News, the hacker was able to gain a backdoor into my phone, able to access emails, photos and worryingly the microphone allowing them to listen into any conversation going on even when the phone is on standby.
The hacker could also activate the camera to take photos without my knowledge.
The type of attack used was based on a vulnerability of an old version of the Google Android operating system, used by some 30 million people.
If the phone I was using had have been upgraded to the latest version of the operating system, then it might have been safe.
But many of us don’t bother to upgrade our phone’s operating system whenever the provider gives an update. I’m way behind upgrading my iPhone, iPad and my BlackBerry as well.
But there are also many other attacks, more than 2,500 affecting the iPhone, BlackBerry, Android, Windows Phone and Nokias.
So what should you do to keep safe?
1) Update your mobile phone’s operating system regularly. Most manufacturers offer one every few months
2) Think carefully about clicking on a link from someone you don’t know or that is obscured by a URL shortener like Bit.ly
3) Use caution when opening an attachment
4) Consider installing a well known anti-virus system for your phone such as Kaspersky. Apple’s iPhone has a more secure system than most, so there may be less need for anti-virus software
5) Create a security code to enter your phone
6) Think of your phone as a computer, not just a device to make calls on.
Follow Benjamin Cohen on Twitter @benjamincohen
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