Cell Phones and Wireless Systems

Fundamental security for any system begins with the basics “confidentiality, integrity, availability.” This is a simple concept that will help you protect critical assets like your personal data as you use your cell phone, because it is now evident that companies for the most part are not protecting you from identity theft. Their mission is to make money, and collecting your personal data is just a means to an end for most businesses. So here are a few things to keep in mind when you use your cell phone in public places.

Confidentiality – don’t use open Wi-Fi systems to transmit data, switch your phone to use its 3G or 4G network.  This will give you an extra level of secrecy and added level of encryption to prevent unauthorized disclosure. Attackers can thwart confidentiality mechanisms by network monitoring, shoulder surfing, stealing password files, breaking encryption schemes, and social engineering.

Basic Personal Cell Phone Protection:

1. Create a stronger password on your phone beyond the four digit ones that come as a default, something with uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols.
2. Turn off tracking use it only when you need it, because people, stores and even others around you can hack that functionality to their advantage and know your movements.
3. Use only trusted networks when transmitting person data. Example: Your Home Network.

Train yourself and your business people to use proper data protection procedures, on and off the job. Since these days a lot of people are using their personal cell phones to access their business accounts through all types of public networks.

Availability - reliable and timely access to data and resources is needed but should only be authorized individuals, and a well designed 3G and 4G networks is a lot better than a public Wi-Fi network. Every company should have guideline on how to access the business network from outside of the company. Since any App you download can lead to a potential risk have vetted IT policies and procedures in place that outline what you can and cannot download.

Integrity – you must establish protection protocols for your network to ensure the integrity of the data it holds. This will also ensure accuracy and reliability of the information and help guard against any unauthorized use or modification of critical systems or the data it stores. Cell phone development is relatively new leaving to the door open for a hacker to take advantage of weak standards and protocols.

Two main cell phone networks are used in the USA - Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) and Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) networks. To learn more check out the other two pages that outlines how they are constructed.