No business can avoid letting its employees use mobile devices for work. And no business can avoid the risks of threats due to mobile malware. Security vendor McAfee reports malware grew by 27 percent last year. There’s no escaping the threat: another study showed that a full 100 percent of businesses have experienced a mobile malware attack.

Mobile Malware Threats

Your employees’ mobile devices can be targeted by several different kinds of malware, including:

• Spyware. These mobile threats record user activity details.
• Trojans. Trojans give attackers control over the device, enabling them to execute code that steals informaton.
• Keyloggers. Keyloggers capture every keystroke, including passwords, account numbers, and other valuable data.
• Ransomware. Users’ data is encrypted and made unreadable unless a ransom is paid.

No matter how careful employees are, their mobile devices can get infected with malware even if they never respond to a phishing email. Mobile threats can be present in multimedia messages sent via MMS, even if the user doesn’t click on anything. While applications downloaded from unofficial sources are highly risky, even applications in the official stores can be infected. Malware developers can also exploit unofficial, unpublished APIs to gain control over the device.

Steps to Protect Against Mobile Malware Threats

You should start by educating employees, but employees can’t protect themselves against all the dangers. Instead, publish your BYOD policy and use tools to enforce controls that will protect your network and data. Among other things, your BYOD policy should prohibit employees from using risky jailbroken devices and require them to update their mobile operating systems to the latest supported version to minimize risks.

Mobile antimalware protects devices against viruses, dangerous apps, and dangerous URLs. Enterprise mobility management (EMM) lets you enforce controls, such as limiting the devices that connect to your network, requiring passwords on devices, restricting user access to internal applications, requiring users to connect over secure virtual private networks, and blocking users from installing unapproved apps.

In addition to using mobile-specific controls, your network should monitor connected mobile devices for unusual or dangerous activity.

Get Mobile Issues Under Control

Get your mobile device challenges under control with mobile support from Prescient Solutions. Our expert team can help you define your BYOD policy; implement mobile device management, mobile application management, or EMM software; and provide user support including provisioning and help desk services. Contact Prescient Solutions to learn more about how our services can protect you from the risks of mobile devices in business.