Smartphone hacking is bad for business

As technology moves to greater heights unfortunately so does the skilled hacker! Just last week it was revealed how hijacking a smartphone to steal data was no great task to those with the know-how.

The good thing is we are aware of it – the bad thing is that businesses are not doing enough to protect themselves.

Security firm research consultant Charlie Miller showed the Black Hat hacker conference in Las Vegas how to hijack a smartphone via a short-range technology known as Near Field Communication (NFC).

He created tools that forced phones to visit websites seeded with attack software which then helped him to look at and steal data on the handset.

NFC is becoming increasingly common in smartphones and during his presentation, Mr Miller showed how to attack three separate phones and in one demonstration was able to view files on a target handset.

In another Mr Miller demonstrated how to abuse NFC and take complete control of a target handset, making it send texts or make calls, via the weaknesses exploited by his customised radio tag.

He did say that to successfully attack some phones they must be running a particular version of the operating system, be unlocked and have their screen active.

The revelation comes as companies record a surge in smartphone sales with Samsung alone shipping 93 million mobile phones in its second quarter, according to a report by research firm Strategy Analytics.

It shows that more than ever it is vital to take action to protect corporate data stored on employees mobile phones.  Security firms are already prepared for what is to come and ESET Mobile Security’s advanced and proactive technology has been designed specifically for Android, Windows Mobile and Symbian platforms.

It means your employees are protected when they are online and that malware is blocked, you data is also protected if the phone is stolen.  ESET Mobile Security also integrates with the ESET Remote Administration tools and includes free UK-based phone support from ESET.

The advance in technology is boosting businesses across the UK and opening up huge opportunities, but business owners must be aware of the dangers that it also brings and protect themselves against them.

If you would like to know more about ESET Mobile Security and discuss an evaluation for your business, call the office on 01952 303404.