Smartphone Security Measures

This article discusses the need for security measures with cell phones nowadays. Not only businesses, but personal aspects of people’s lives are entwined in cell phones. In fact, they are so important, they are not even called cell phones anymore; they are known as smartphones. Either way, this article notes that even the simplest cell phone stores enough information that can potentially be dangerous if stolen or accessed by the wrong people. Several people go ahead and add an internet connection to their smartphones as well, thus mitigating the potential problems that can arise should that phone be lost or taken.
In order to avoid this type of a disaster, this article provides smartphone tips specific for different types of phones. In all cases, if you are getting rid of your cell phone, remove all information within it. For Blackberry owners, it is important to password-protect your start-up screen so that a password must be entered all the time. Locking your phone when not in use is also a good idea. Encrypting the data is also important, and regenerating that encryption every two weeks is a good practice to follow. Do not store usernames and passwords in your phone’s browser; instead, store it in the phone and encrypt it. Another tip is to lock down the Bluetooth. By default Bluetooth is on and this wastes battery life and leaves you open to Bluetooth-based attacks. Clearing the memory on your phone, particularly of unencrypted data, is also crucial.
For Smartphone users (Windows Mobile 6), similar steps should be taken. iPhone users should enable their passcode lock and autolock, use a third-party password manager, require their Bluetooth to have an eight-character PIN (even though Bluetooth is off by default), and clear the memory and cache (cookies and such). The article goes into detail on how to go about taking these steps.
This article relates to both our chapters this week in regards to cell phones and their internet connections, and the potential problems that can occur. I personally own a Blackberry and I must admit that I don’t take any of these precautions. They seem to be a bit much, but if there is important data stored in your phone, then these steps are necessary. The only precaution I have taken is to change all the names in my address book so they don’t read generic terms like “mom” or “home.” But that makes me wonder if when I happen to need assistance, how would the person who is trying to help me know who to call as an emergency contact?


Reference:

Sarrel, Matthew D. (2009). Smartphone Security Measures. Retrieved April 21, 2009,
from PC magazine.
Website: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2339121,00.asp