Securing Laptops, Phones, and Everything In Between

Use of laptops, tablets, and mobile phones for business operations offers numerous benefits like increased mobility and flexibility for employees who can work remotely, travel, or visit clients without being bound to a desk or office. Also, improved communication and collaboration for sharing information expedites processes that drive high productivity, improved customer satisfaction, and better service quality. Increasing use of mobile devices for business operations makes security a key concern to secure critical data. Embracing secure mobility has become a must for organizations and professionals. However, increasing use of mobile devices comes with critical security threats; therefore, businesses need to have a comprehensive custom cybersecurity solution.   

Importance of Having Robust Security Cover for Laptops, Tablets, and Mobile Phones in the BYOD Trend

BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) is a rising trend in organizations where employees use their own laptops, tablets, and smartphones instead of employer-provided devices. ‘82% of organizations have a BYOD program’- Exploding Topics. ‘Over 50.3% of employees use BYOD’ - (Beyond Identity). Laptops, tablets, and mobile phones face a range of threats, including phishing attacks, malware, social engineering, compromised apps, network vulnerabilities, etc, potentially leading to financial loss, data breaches, and privacy violations. Still, only 22% of organizations provide full BYOD support to their employees. Mobile devices present an incredible attack vector for social engineering, malware distribution, and phishing; cybercriminals are well aware of this fact. What are the risks associated with using laptops, tablets, and mobile phones without organizational security support? 

Top Security Threats to Guard Securing Laptops, Phones, and Everything In Between 

If a threat actor compromises an employee’s mobile device, the results can impact the proceedings, performance, financial growth, and reputation of the entire organization. When 82% of organizations are working with a BYOD program, even a single ill-gotten password could give attackers access to sensitive information. To protect employees’ mobile devices against potential cyberattacks, you need to understand how threat actors target mobile devices, learn effective ways to mitigate cyber risks, and implement effective security measures. Any one of these possibilities can threaten both organizational and individual data-

1. Mobile Phishing Scams: Threat actors impersonate a trusted entity to access the desired information. Attackers often ask about banking details, passwords, social security numbers, or organizational data. Small screens and less detailed interfaces make it more difficult to verify the sender’s identity.
2. Network Threats: A man-in-the-middle method is a common practice of cybercriminals. In a man-in-the-middle attack, a threat actor acquires sensitive data while it’s in transit. Even encrypted files are not totally safe from man-in-the-middle attacks because cybercriminals often extract the decryption keys from the file sending machine. Public Wi-Fi networks and unsolicited Bluetooth connections are commonly used attack vectors.
3. Device Theft and Data Breach Risks: Stealing a smartphone, tablet, or laptop is easy. Cybercriminals extract valuable information from the device first. The extracted information may be about company passwords or documents. Also, imitating someone via email or SMS is a common practice.
4. Risky and Malicious Apps: Some apps request permissions beyond what they need to function, so that they could extract sensitive or confidential details from the data storage. The common practice of downloading unvetted apps on a company device or personal device invites potential cybersecurity risks.
5. IoT Device Vulnerabilities: Internet of Things (IoT) gadgets serve as gateways into otherwise secure networks and devices. Since IoT products are sourced from different manufacturers and have different connection protocols, it is difficult to determine which one is reliable, if they have existing vulnerabilities, and how often new patches will come out.
6. Weak Passwords: An easily guessable PIN or password grants cybercriminals full access to the device. Weak passwords on Wi-Fi networks provide a clear window into mobile device traffic. Weak passwords in iOS or Android accounts simplify installing shady apps remotely. Weak passwords used for social media apps make it easy to impersonate an employee. 
7. Operating System & App Vulnerabilities: Most of the time, Google, Apple, and other leading developers patch vulnerabilities before attackers can exploit them, but if patches need to be manually downloaded, most users forget or don't check, and these patches get missed". Administrators in organizations don’t have direct control over personal devices; also, employees might own outdated hardware. 

How To Have the Toughest Measures Securing Laptops, Phones, & Everything In Between

• Educate users about mobile security threats. Educating your employees about common mobile security threats is the first step to protecting mobile devices and your organization’s data. Educate them about what a phishing message looks like. Ask them to check how many of their apps need updating. Remind them about changing their password and having a complex password to crack.  Employees should also be directed to report immediately in case they notice any incident. 
• Create BYOD ((Bring Your Own Device) policies. Employees tend to use their personal devices for work, whether you want them to do it or not. Rather than putting a ban on the use of personal devices, create reasonable BYOD policies. To enhance BYOD security, you can containerize cloud apps, limit the sharing of sensitive data, and monitor user behavior. 
• Safeguard sensitive data. Create policies for employees, directing them about what type of data they can store on their mobile devices. However, they have access to your organization’s cloud services, such as email, file storage, and employee directories; it is a gold mine for threat actors. A data loss prevention (DLP) solution can be helpful here. The custom DLP solutions help you track how your employees store, access, and share data and flag any irregular patterns. 
• Go beyond one-time authentication. One-time authentication grants access to apps and services by using the correct credentials. The one-time authentication process is convenient but has a number of security gaps. Threat actors can easily log into an employee’s account with stolen devices or credentials. A zero-trust approach is a better alternative. Zero-trust system requires frequent logins, strong multi-factor authentication (MFA) protections, and secure internet connections. 
• Implement custom mobile endpoint security. Implementing a mobile device management (MDM) solution is a good practice, but an MDM may not provide enough protection by itself. While MDM systems can track and monitor mobile devices, they can’t detect threats or prevent real-time attacks. A mobile endpoint detection and response (EDR) solution can complement an MDM and fill in the gaps, enabling you to manage and apply security policies on both managed and unmanaged devices.

How RITC Cybersecurity Can Help You Secure Laptops, Phones, & Other IoTs

One of the top world-class Cybersecurity services provider companies in the USA, RITC Cybersecurity has years’ experience and proven expertise in providing tailored-to-need cybersecurity solutions for small or medium-sized businesses. The leading cybersecurity firm specializing in compliance solutions offers a range of services like cybersecurity program development, vCISO consulting, risk assessments, and audit support to help you strengthen your cyber risk management and secure your digital assets. If you know you need a cybersecurity solution to secure IoTs but don’t know where to start, book your free online consulting session with experienced cybersecurity professionals or call 480-708-7013.