Back in 2009 Disklabs was featured in a Computer Weekly article entitled “Forensic mobile phone work reveals threat to all of us“.
The article revealed exactly how much detailed information could be gleaned about an individual from text messages, emails, contact databases and apps. Information that could be used to get access to bank accounts, to determine the best time to burgle your home or, more insidiously, for both cyber and physical stalking.
Six years on the situation has only got worse.
93% of UK adults now own mobile phones (source: Mobile Operators Association) and more than two thirds have a smartphone (source: Mobile Consumer 2014: The UK Cut. Deloitte). Our smartphones and tablets contain even more details of our personal and business lives. Â Not only have the devices themselves been given greater processing power and capacity but they plug us in more effectively than ever to a myriad of apps, social media sites and eCommerce opportunities.
It is true that manufacturers and content providers have introduced various security measure and features to help protect us from prying eyes. Fingerprint scanners and facial recognition on our phones and tablets; Two-step verification log-ins and secure encrypted sessions for websites and apps.
However here are two statistics that make those measures sound less reassuring.
One. A 2014 study by Consumer Reports suggested that 34% of smartphone owners in the US don’t use any security features at all – it isn’t likely that the UK will be better in this respect.
Two. A staggering 183, 523 smartphones, tablets, laptops and USB drives were reported to the Police as lost or stolen in 2013-2014 (source: V3.co.uk). Â EE (source: Explore.EE.co.uk) actually suggested the figure was as high as 10 million.
It all adds up to a massive risk for both individuals and organisations.  Reported UK cybercrime in 2013-2014 was valued at £670m but this is likely to be a massive underestimate.  Disklabs has provided its digital forensic investigation capability for a variety of public and private bodies and maintaining privacy has been the watchword in every case.
So what can you do to be more secure?
• Set up lock screens and use a pin number or better still a password with a mix of alphanumeric characters, upper and lowercase.  Pattern unlocks can be detected by greasy finger trails on the screen.
• Use apps to provide antivirus, antitheft, device location and privacy protection features. Providers include Norton, AVG, BullGuard and Sophos.  Don’t use any apps that come from unknown sources.
• Switch off automatic wifi, Bluetooth and NFC connections to stop your device from connecting with spoof networks.
• Consider encrypting your smartphone and SD card. This offers very strong protection to your phone but there are some disadvantages.  It may slow your phone down and once you have enabled it you can’t go back to non-encrypted use without a factory reset.
Most people don’t willfully leave their doors and windows open, a stack of money laying on the kitchen table and a list of the location of their most valuable belongings pinned to the fridge when they go out.  Don’t do the equivalent on your mobile device.
Visit our website for more information on Disklabs’ range of digital forensics and data recovery services or get in contact. Â Call us today on +44(0)1827 50000Â or use our contact form to let us know your requirements.
Image courtesy of Stuart James at FreeDigitalPhotos.net</>
© Disklabs Ltd 2017
