How much sensitive information do you have on your smartphone. There is a good chance that it is a lot more than you know. Those pictures you took with your phone are geotagged by default. That means that even if you don’t care about someone seeing the contents of your photo library, they will be able to get the precise location of where you took them.
From your pictures, they know where you live, where you like to go, and what your family looks like. …And that’s just from the metadata in your photo library.
Ready to talk security? Here’s what you need to know:
Protect Your Hardware
There are many financially secure people in the smartphone repair business who will happily attest to the fact that smartphones do not protect themselves. When you drop them, they break. When they take a swim in the toilet, they drown. If you don’t have the data on your smartphone backed up at all times, you are in danger of losing something important and irreplaceable when your grip slips, and gravity takes over. Gravity is the enemy of all smartphones, especially expensive ones.
You can’t defeat gravity. But you can put up a good fight by installing any one of the many protective iPhone 6 cases on your 6 or 6s. This means that the phone will remain usable even after a serious drop. But what such a drop should do for you is provide a wakeup call for you to backup your one-of-a-kind data to a source that is less prone to taking swims in the toilet when you least expect it.
Track It Like a Bloodhound
You should know where your smartphone is at all times. If you have an iPhone, it has a feature called Find My iPhone that is in settings, and is a part of the OS. It is integral to the security of your phone. But if you want something with even more tracking features, there are other ways to protect your iPhone against theft using a tracking app.
By using these specialized apps, you can not only see where your iPhone is, but also where it has been. There is even a geofencing tool that allows you to set up places the phone is expected to be. When the phone moves outside of that safe area, you are immediately alerted. When protecting your device, be sure to leverage the power of apps.
Use the Onboard Security
Regardless of platform, there is some onboard security for your smartphone of choice. Even the worst of it is pretty good. And the best of it is virtually warrant-proof. It took everything the FBI had, plus some, to get into an out of date iPhone 5c, running an out of date OS, with no fingerprint lock or secure enclave. They even had Apples full cooperation with the currently available tools.
The FBI admits that their purchased iPhone unlocking method can’t crack even last year’s iPhone. So even if you do nothing more than what is prescribed during a typical iPhone setup, you are practically impervious to hacking.
Apple has made 6-digit passcodes standard. That already puts it out of reach of most hacking techniques. Top that off with a fingerprint and a secure enclave, and you are in great shape. Your phone is secure. You are the weakest link.
Don’t Be the Weak Link
The easiest way to get into a locked door is to knock, and wait for someone to open it. In the digital world, that’s called phishing. All an attacker has to do is send you an email pretending to be someone you trust, like your bank. They simply ask you to update your information, and send you a fake link. You click on the link and give them everything they couldn’t otherwise break in and steal.
Apple customers are prime targets for phishing attacks. Learn the difference between legitimate company email and a phishing attack. Don’t be the weakest link in the chain. Use the onboard security. Track like a bloodhound. And protect your device from breakage. Your world is on your smartphone. Save the smartphone. Save the world.
