71% of the Spanish adult population owns a smartphone , and 88.2% of Internet users access the Internet with one of these devices, compared to 78.2% who do so with a computer. Smart phones have become our main tool for personal relationships, information, shopping, banking and – increasingly – work. For this reason, protecting the information we keep in them and the data of our transactions has become a necessity.
Spain, at the forefront of Europe in the penetration of smartphones among the population, is one of the countries most affected by the growing attacks on mobile phones, which are increasingly complex and sophisticated. For this reason, the National Cryptological Center (CCN) has just published its Good Practices report, with a security decalogue with the main points to take into account, among which the need to update the operating system and mobile applications stands out ( provided they are downloaded from trusted sources), make regular backup copies of the content you want to protect, avoid connecting to open public Wi-Fi networks and reject unnecessary permissions on apps.
Here you have the complete decalogue:
1. The mobile device must be protected by a robust access code associated with the lock screen (or failing that, a digital fingerprint). The access code must be requested immediately after the screen is turned off, which should automatically lock as soon as possible if there is no user activity. The mobile device should not be left unattended without locking.
2. The native encryption capabilities of the mobile device must be used in order to protect all data and information stored on it.
3. The operating system of the mobile device must always be up to date, like all mobile applications.
4. Do not connect the mobile device to unknown USB ports and do not accept any trust relationship through USB if there is no evidence that you are connecting the mobile device to a trusted computer.
5. Disable all wireless communication interfaces of the mobile device (NFC, Bluetooth and BLE, Wi-Fi, location services, etc.) that are not going to be used permanently by the user. They should be enabled only when they are going to be used, and disabled again when they are finished.
6. Do not connect the mobile device to open public wifi networks (or wifi hostpots) that do not implement any type of security.
7. Do not install any app that does not come from a trusted source, such as the official app markets (Google Play, App Store …).
8. It is recommended not to grant unnecessary or excessive permissions to apps, thus limiting the data and functionality to which they will have access.
9. Whenever possible , the HTTPS protocol should be used (by inserting the text “https: //” before the web address of the server to contact). An invalid digital certificate error message should never be accepted.
10. Periodic, and preferably automatic, backup copies should be made of all the security contents of the mobile device that you want to protect and preserve.
Image: CC by 2.0 / Blog Entrepreneur.
