How to discover if your smartphone is under attack? Five tips by two security experts!


In this interesting article by Darkreading Yair Amit (CTO and cofounder of mobile defense company Skycure) and Mike Murray (VP of security research and response for Lookout) talks about the shift in cyberattacks to mobile devices and proposes 5 conditions that could indicate a smartphone has been hacked.

1. Websites Appear Differently

In some cases, websites appearing differently could be an indicator of malicious activity. Mobile devices are constantly connected to networks, and businesses are seeing more attacks where someone is manipulating traffic between the device and the Internet.

2. Presence Of Mysterious Apps

A few years ago, fraudulent apps were considered annoyances; they may have been used to snoop on SMS messaging, but rarely did much beyond that. Now, malicious apps are being used more for genuinely harmful purposes. Hackers can plant apps on employee devices to snoop, perform actions on their behalf, explore their calendars, and access their GPS.

3. Rapidly Decreasing Battery Life

Some apps employed by cybercriminals are more advanced than others; as a result, they are harder to detect. 
If the app is less smart and attempts to send hordes of traffic from a device, victims may notice a few suspicious signs. Their smartphones may mysteriously start using a lot of battery, for example, or become warmer for no apparent reason. Temperature increase is another sign the device has been compromised.

4. Increase In Blacklisted Network Traffic

Most organizations have something set up to let them know if a blacklisted IP address has been accessed and one of the first indicators of mobile cybercrime is a network indicator of compromise coming from a mobile device. While it doesn’t happen often, this is the best way to detect malicious activity without mobile security software deployed.

5. Sensitive Data Leaks

If you notice major information is leaked outside the organization and are not sure why, it could be a sign of mobile cyberattack: amartphones are an increasingly common threat vector, and businesses should apply policy to securing mobile devices.