A White-Hat Hacker’s Insight IntoSmartphone Security

Smartphone security is a big deal mainly because
smartphones have become such an important part of
our lives. People trust their smartphones with a lot of
things: to store their emails, contact lists and address
information, private office documents, financial details
and so on. With all these, no one wants the extra
burden of worrying about their smartphone’s
susceptibility to security breaches. But the thing is, you
really have to worry about it.

In an October 2015 interview with BBC’s Panorama,
Edward Snowden said that the UK intelligence agency
GCHQ “could gain access to a handset by sending it an
encrypted text message and use it for such things as
taking pictures and listening in.” The UK government
did not respond to Snowden’s claim. Who knows what
the silence really means?
Shrugs.
But all hope is not lost. Steve Lord, a white-hat hacker
(hackers who use their powers for good), was
interviewed by What Mobile . Steve has ten years’ worth
of experience in information security.
During the interview, he offered some insights into
smartphone security that I’d like to share with you.
On which OS has the safest
ecosystem
“All have benefits and drawbacks. Currently, Windows
Phone seems to be the hardest nut to crack.
Blackberry has a long history of being very security-
focused. If I have physical access to the device, I find
Android’s usually the easiest target. Then comes
iPhone, then older versions of BlackBerry. If it’s over a
network or I have to attack via email or message,
Android’s usually the softest target.”
So this means that Windows OS is the safest, then
BlackBerry 10 OS, then iOS, then older BlackBerry OS,
and finally, Android.
On keeping your personal data
more secure
“Make sure your phone has the latest updates. Don’t
put anything on it you wouldn’t want to see all over the
Internet. Don’t jailbreak or root your phone. Never
install apps from outside of your phone’s app store.”
On the security of older
smartphones
“Older smartphones tend be considered less secure as
they’re usually affected by known weaknesses. If
you’re using an older phone you’re better off with a
classic dumb phone. If you have to have an older
smartphone, use an older BB10-based Blackberry, or a
Windows Phone running Windows Phone 8 or newer.”
On apps that render smartphones
insecure
“[There are] lots of apps that do bad things with
permissions. The worst offenders are things like
Facebook and Facebook Messenger. Most apps need to
access certain things like your photos to allow you to
share pictures. But some apps just seem to want to
hoover up data and send it back to the mothership.”
Take Steve’s advice and be more careful with the data
on your smartphone.