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Mobile Device Security: Don't Be Naïve

I woke up this morning at my normal 4:30AM. This getting old stuff really whacks your sleep!
Turned on the news and the first two stories were on yet another set of cyber security
breaches. In fact, there is not a single day that goes by that you don’t hear about the latest
cyber security breach or credit card hack or personal data theft or even identity theft. This
week, a story broke where Sony Pictures had their Enterprise system hacked and unreleased
films stolen and placed on the internet for free downloads. Last week, the US Post Office
Enterprise got hacked and more than 750k USPS
employees' personal information stolen.

But, it isn’t just the Enterprise being attacked. Ask
Apple. In the past 3 weeks, 2 very nasty attacks
were directed at the Apple mobile operating system,
iOS. The first is called the "Masque Attack" which
poses as a very popular game app and users
unknowingly install it. The Masque Attack then steals
your banking and credit card transaction information.
The other is named “WireLurker”, which attacks your
Apple mobile device while charging from a USB port.
It is an extremely sophisticated program that also
steals personal information such as the device serial
W ir e Lu r k e r M a l wa r e number, iTunes information, and phone number and

sends it to another server.

It struck me that there are just some things that a lot of people just haven't quite grasped yet.
The cyber security criminals are very organized. And, there is a distinct shift in their targeting.
With the move to more and more mobile device dependency, the criminals are targeting mobile
devices more than our desktop and laptop computers. Yes, our mobile devices have become
the primary target for cyber criminals.

And the consequences are dire. Think of all the stuff you have on your mobile device. Now
think about this. Think about a company of 10 or 20 or 30 thousand criminals. They have the
money, the resources, and the expertise. They attack indiscriminately, looking for opportunities,
making opportunities, and they no longer have to break into your back door or your vault. They
can attack thousands, hundreds of thousands, even millions of potential victims with a
keystroke. No one is immune. No operating system is completely secure.

I'm no chicken little. But, honestly, the volume and severity of attacks has me on high alert,
especially when it comes to my mobile devices. I have a bunch of them, all Apple. You need to
be aware of the ever-present and very REAL threat. You also need to exercise common sense
and be smart about protecting yourself from these malicious criminals and their ever-increasing,
sophisticated, clever attacks meant to do harm to anyone and everyone. The bad guys don't
discriminate.

72 Cyber Warnings E-Magazine – December 2014 Edition
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