These days, almost everyone has a mobile phone. They can now do more than ever, meaning we enter and store loads of personal information on them like bank details, addresses, and emails. Unfortunately, the widespread use of mobile phones also means that they are subject to cyberattacks, privacy invasions, and security flaws. Now more than ever, privacy protection is an increasing concern.
In this article, we’ll run through some basic security issues and how to avoid them. Thanks to CoverMe, you can upgrade your security and stay safe online.
Mobile Phone Security Is a Bigger Concern Than Ever
With data leaks and scamming successes frequently making the headlines, people all over the world are getting increasingly concerned about the safety of their devices. One recent survey showed that:
“Among mobile phone users, smartphone users are more likely than basic or feature phone users to report a security-related concern. In India, for example, 47% of smartphone users say they worry about security issues, compared with 31% of basic or feature phone users who say the same.”
Laura et al.(2019)Obstacles to using phones.Pew Research Center.Obstacles to using phones in emerging countries | Pew Research Center
And what’s worse, people have good reason to be worried. Mobile phones often have weaker security protocols compared with traditional devices such as laptops. Additionally, people tend to know little about the ways in which apps use and share the data contained on the device, leaving many users unwittingly sharing their details with companies all over the world.
According to the same study, the more that people in a country use smartphones, the more they tend to suffer from security issues. That’s bad for businesses with employees who use their mobile phones for work, and it’s also bad for individuals who need to do online banking, make purchases, or communicate privately with people.
Common Causes of Information Disclosure
There are hundreds of ways that people can get hold of the information on your mobile phone. Surprisingly, however, malware is not the number one cause of information disclosure. Although it used to be the bane of computers in the early years of the internet, most mobile phones actually have pretty solid antimalware protection built into them. One study even reckoned that lightning strikes are more common than mobile malware.
Rather, the most common ways that users disclose their personal information is through registering for services or websites that misuse their data, via online shopping, or by sending their information over an unsecured chat message.
These three primary routes of information leakage can arise from several causes. They can be the result of phishing, whereby people impersonate banks, companies, and even authorities in order to trick users into giving up their personal information in an email or text. Another common cause is using an unsecured messaging app, email or regular text service that is intercepted by a malicious party. This is surprisingly common since most of the information that leaves a mobile device is unsecured or weakly secured.
The final way in which mobile phone safety is threatened and personal information can be stolen is through server vulnerability. Depending on your mobile network or the WiFi that you use, most internet providers use a centralized hub where information is stored before being sent on to the intended recipient. If that hub is hacked, then your personal information is at risk.
Many more risks exist to threaten your mobile security, but these three are the most common. Fortunately, you can easily solve them in one simple step.
The Perfect Solution to Mobile Phone Privacy and Security Issues
One of the best ways to ensure that you do not accidentally disclose your personal information or become the subject of a cyberattack is to encrypt the data leaving your phone. This means that it cannot be understood by a third party even if it is intercepted.
An easy way to do this is to download CoverMe, which is a second number app that comes with a full suite of security features to protect you and your device. CoverMe employs end-to-end encrypted VoIP, which is a security protocol on the same level as that used by military services around the world.
CoverMe’s encryption service is so advanced, using codes and encryption algorithms that are so long, that they could not be cracked by all the computers in the world working together! In fact, there are actually more possible combinations to a CoverMe encryption code than there are atoms in the universe.
It also uses a tunneling protocol with decentralized servers, meaning that your personal information is never stored in any one location – imagine it like your data running securely underground rather than being carried across an unsecured network.
CoverMe’s Additional Mobile Security Features
As well as encrypting all of your data, CoverMe has a wealth of other security features designed to keep your information safe and your communications private.
- Second Phone Number. CoverMe acts like a burner phone, providing you with as many additional, untraceable numbers as you need in order to carry out your business in private.
- Private Messaging. With its own internal private messaging and group chatting platform, you can send messages, videos and files securely to friends and colleagues. You can even broadcast messages to specific groups of people.
- Message Recall. Using this nifty feature, you can securely protect time-sensitive documents or delete messages that you have sent out by mistake. All you have to do is hit the recall button and all traces of your message will be wiped from the recipient’s phone – great for when you just accidentally emailed your boss instead of your friend!
- Personal Vault. CoverMe’s high-tech vault is encrypted and password-protected, offering dual security to keep your most treasured digital possession safe. You can store messages, files, contacts, photos, and videos. This is great for preventing snoopers from looking through your phone and finding your photos.
Using CoverMe, you can easily avoid all of the common privacy pitfalls that affect users. The app is free to download, and you can get it up and running in minutes. So, what’s stopping you? Take your mobile security to the next level today, download CoverMe here.