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Extreme Hacking | Sadik Shaikh | Cyber Suraksha Abhiyan

Credits: IndiaTimes

Popular apps on your smartphones can be fun and engaging but they may contain malicious software, or malware, which can give hackers access to your data. Incidents of phones getting hacked and hackers exploiting personal data of users are not rare.

Tech-savvy 32-year-old Deepak, who is always glued to his phone and has the habit of downloading games, got to know this the hard way. Within two hours of downloading a gaming app which seemed to be very engaging, his phone became slow and other apps in his phone started crashing and the phone hanged within no time. That was the time he realised that the malware from the gaming app has been embedded in his phone.

According to a study of more than 400,000 apps available from the Google Play store by cyber security company, NowSecure, 10.8 per cent of all apps leak sensitive data over the network, 24.7 per cent of mobile applications have at least one high-risk security flaw, and 50 per cent of popular apps send data to an ad network including but not limited to phone numbers, IMEI numbers (a unique identifier assigned to cellular devices), call logs and location coordinates.

Smartphone apps, especially those that come free, are risky because your smartphone is more vulnerable than your desktop to security threats. As the number of smartphone users rises, so does the risk. According to a Kaspersky security bulletin, there was a sudden spurt in malware attacks on Android devices in 2016.

All apps that get access to more than they actually require are not equally harmful. Some will just share your phone number with a third party while some can even get the whole control of your device and can misuse your personal information such as bank details, passwords and photos in various ways. NowSecure studied the most popular apps on the Google Play store (those with more than 1 million downloads) and found 16,036 high-risk issues among them.

Below are the six broad types of apps that compromise your smartphone, according to Trend Micro, a cyber security company:

1. Data stealer
Technique: Steals information stored in the mobile device and sends it to a remote user.
User Implication: Stolen information may be used for malicious purposes.

2. Premium service abuser
Technique: Subscribes the infected phone to premium services without user consent.
User Implication: Unnecessary charges for services not authorized by user.

3. Click fraudster
Technique: Mobile devices are abused via clicking online ads without users’ knowledge (pay-per-click).
User Implication: Cyber criminals gain profit from these clicks.

4. Malicious downloader
Technique: Downloads other malicious files and apps.
User Implication: Mobile device is vulnerable to more infection.

5. Spying tools
Technique: Tracks user’s location via monitoring GPS data and sends this to the third party.
User Implication: Cyber criminals track down the location of users.

6. Rooter
Technique: Gains complete control of the phone, including their functions.
User Implication: Users’ mobile devices are exposed to more threats.

Since your smartphone is so vulnerable to malicious apps and even most popular apps may not be totally safe, you need to be very careful about the security of your data. Below are a few basic precautions, according to Trend Micro, that are must for every smartphone user who downloads apps

Maximize the security features
Users should properly configure their smartphones location and security settings. For added protection, use the PIN (numeric) and password lock features of your smartphones. Other devices have fingerprint lock, which is also a great option, as it ensures that you are the only one who can access your smartphone.

Think before you download
Consider downloading exclusively from official app stores like the Android Market. Not all the apps are guaranteed as secure but the Android Market is still your best bet, security-wise.

Scrutinize permissions asked by apps
Malicious apps ask for access to a long list of information stored in your device. Requesting that much access may be a signal that it’s really acting as a backdoor. Be careful in accepting requests for personal or device information.

Treat your mobile device like your PC
Today’s smartphones act like mini-PCs. They are designed to handle multiple tasks, like web browsing. Just the same, they are also open to the same threats. Think twice before browsing the Internet via smartphones.