Top Mobile Cyber Security Threats To Look Out In Late 2024

Date: October 17, 2024

According to Verizon’s 2020 Mobile Security Index, 43 percent of businesses compromised mobile security in the past year.

We’ve all heard of virus and hacker threats penetrating our laptops and home computers, but now our mobile phones have fallen victim as well. You could have malware or spyware on your device without your knowledge. So if you are curious about what is the greatest threat to the security of mobile devices? We have outlined below some of the most often seen mobile cyber security threats to help keep your data safe.

Malware and Spyware

It doesn’t matter if you’ve beefed up your home computer, or if your mobile phone is left vulnerable. Like most security systems, you’re only as safe as your weakest link – in this case, it’s your phone.

Certain mobile cyber security threats, such as malware, can be detected and removed easily with the right programs. Malware is one of the most common cyber mobile threats because it aims to steal your data and damage your devices. You could lose your identity and banking info if you aren’t careful.

Spyware hits much closer to home than a remote user somewhere gathering your information. Spyware is what the name suggests, software installed on your mobile that invades your privacy. It could be from a random hacker looking to spy, but it’s much more personal than that.

Spyware is a common resource for spouses, parents, and employers to keep track of your comings and goings.

Compromised Wi-Fi Security and Data Leakage

Free Wi-Fi sounds great, especially if it saves your data. Many public spaces offer free Wi-Fi, such as your local coffee shop or department store. However, did you know that free Wi-Fi is most likely unsecured? This means that whatever you do when you’re connected to the free Wi-Fi can be easily hacked.

Is there a way around this? Yes, there is. We would advise users to only use free Wi-Fi for general browsing. Do not access personal banks, input credit card info, and other high-security data during this time.
Other than Wi-Fi compromising private data, users are also susceptible to data leakage via websites and mobile apps. No one reads permissions when clicking “allow,” but we advise people to do so. Giving broad permissions puts data at risk.

These aren’t apps downloaded from illegal sites, but many of them can be from the official Google Play or Apple App Store. If given broad permissions, these apps can steal data and allow it to be mined by corporations and sometimes hackers and cybercriminals.  With ever-growing threats, having modern cyber threats and security solutions is essential to counter cyber attacks.

Other Common Mobile Cyber Security Threats

The above examples were some of the most common ones we see on devices, but we have also compiled a list with other often seen attacks that include:

• Phishing
• Ransom and Stalkerware
• MITM attacks
• Weak cryptography     
• Network mirroring

Conclusion

Some people may be susceptible to some of the top mobile cyber security threats. Others may even have or will experience it, but knowing what these common attacks are will help users protect against them. Be careful of what Wi-Fi to connect to and what information is put on the Internet. You can also use the best ad-blocker apps on your smartphones to have an extra layer of protection as ads are one of the most common methods used to infiltrate your devices.