Phone hacking can compromise your identity and privacy without you even knowing. Fraudsters continuously evolve and improve hacking methods, making them increasingly harder to spot. This means the average user might be blind sighted by any number of cyberattacks. Fortunately, you can protect yourself by staying up to date on the newest hacks.
Smartphones have brought all our private accounts and data into a single, convenient location making our phones the perfect target for a hacker. Everything from banking to email and social media is linked into your phone. Which means that once a criminal gets access to your phone, all your apps are open doors for cybertheft.
Phone hacking security is increasingly important as more of our personal info becomes digitized and mobile-connected. Since methods are constantly evolving, you will have to be ever vigilant with security.
Being mindful of your digital behavior is the best way to protect yourself and fortunately, there are many known practices that have been proven to lower hacking risks.
Practices that have been proven to lower hacking risks:
1. Don’t download sketchy or unreputable apps.
Look at reviews and research before installing if you are unsure. If you’re not confident in safety of app, do not install it.
2. Don’t jailbreak your phone.
While it allows you to download from unofficial app stores, jailbreaking ups your risk of unknowingly getting hacked. Aside from malware or spyware, this means you’ll miss security patches in the latest OS updates. Jailbreakers skip updates to keep the jailbreak functional. This makes your risks of being hacked even higher than normal.
3. Keep your phone with you at all times.
Physical access is the easiest way for a hacker to corrupt your phone. Theft and a single day of effort could result in your phone being breached. If you can keep your phone with you, a hacker will have to work much harder to get into it.
4. Always use a passcode lock and use complex passwords.
Do not use easily guessable PINs, like birthdays, graduation dates, or basic defaults like “0000” or “1234.” Use an extended passcode if available, like those with 6 characters. Don’t ever reuse a password in more than one place.
5. Don’t store passwords on your device.
Remembering unique passwords for every account can be difficult. So use a secure password manager instead. These services allow you to store all your secure credentials in a digital vault — giving you easy access and the security you need.
6. Frequently clear your internet history.
It can be simple to profile trends about your life from all the breadcrumbs of your browser history. So, clear everything, including cookies and cache.
7. Enable a lost device tracking service.
If you lose track of your device out in public, you can use a lost device finder to trace its current location. Some phones have a native application for this, while others may need a third-party app to add this feature.
8. Keep all apps up to date.
Even trusted apps can have programming bugs that hackers exploit. App updates come with bug fixes to protect you from known risks. The same applies to your OS, so update your phone itself when you can.
9. Always enable two-factor authentication (2FA).
This is a second verification method that follows an attempt to use your password. 2FA uses another private account or something you physically have. Apple ID and Google accounts offer 2FA in case your device is used by unsavory actors, so always activate it for more security. Biometrics like fingerprints and face ID are becoming popular options. Physical USB keys are also a great choice when available.
10. Be cautious about using text or email for your 2FA.
Text message and email 2FA are better than no protection but might be intercepted through hacks like SIM swapping.
11. Don’t use public Wi-Fi without a virtual private network (VPN).
Virtual Private Network Secure Connection encrypt and anonymize your data so unwanted viewers can’t see it.
If you had another, mention it in comments
If you had another, mention it in comments
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