Category: Mobile Phone

New research conducted by CyberSmart, a leading provider of SME security solutions, indicates that mobile cybersecurity incidents at small businesses are widespread.

 

The research, conducted by OnePoll in Autumn 2024, polled 250 small-medium enterprise (SME) business owners or leaders in the UK, found that over a third (35%) of small business employees or owners report clicking on a phishing link via mobile.

 

Elsewhere, 30% of respondents reported losing or having stolen a mobile phone containing sensitive corporate information, leaving their business more vulnerable to potential cybercriminal activity.

 

While these dramatic incidents are a concern from a security perspective, the minutiae of business activity taking place on a mobile, without policies in place, also suggest a concerning lack of security awareness from SMEs. For example, a quarter of respondents admitted using a mobile device used for work to a public charging station (e.g., at an airport or café), and 36% of respondents have worked from a public WiFi network on a mobile device. A further 9% admitted to forwarding corporate data to a personal account, and 11% admitted storing corporate passwords or login credentials on a mobile device without encryption.

 

“These results are obviously a concern for SMEs and their employees. Large organisations are more likely to implement security awareness training for mobile devices and implement a code of conduct for corporate devices. This is not a luxury afforded to most SMEs, who do not have the resources or time to do so.” Said Jamie Akhtar, Co-Founder and CEO at CyberSmart. “It is the responsibility of the cybersecurity industry to change this, and to make security more accessible for the small businesses which make up 99% of the UK economy.”

 

You can find the full results of the survey here.

 

This follows news from CyberSmart that a worrying 60% of businesses expect their employees to carry out work tasks on their personal mobile phone.

The post Poor mobile security practices rife at SMEs, CyberSmart survey finds appeared first on IT Security Guru.

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Nigeria has announced a clampdown on 73 million mobile numbers as they failed to link their SIMS to the NIN database. And reports are in that nearly one-third of the entire mobile user’s database was blocked from making any outgoing calls because of privacy, security, and issues related to compliance.

In July 2011, most of the South African countries agreed to employ SIM Registration laws in their regions, respectively, and those countries include Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, and Nigeria.

The SIM Registration laws apply to curb digital crimes such as banking fraud and identity theft. So, an 11-digit electronic national identity card was rolled out by the Nigerian government that makes it mandatory for citizens to register their personal details along with photos, biometrics, and fingerprints. I

The National Identity Card will convey a National Identity Number(NIN) to each Nigerian and help in opening a bank account, subscribing to a mobile phone number, and gaining passports.

For the past 5-years, the government authorities were extending the deadline to link their phone numbers with the NIN database. And those who failed to do so by March 31st this year were barred from making outgoing calls.

After a certain period, the government plans to permanently block the number, making it defunct thereafter.

Privacy advocates are concerned that such information disclosure to the government will lead to privacy concerns and other issues.

But government sources say that mobile numbers linking with the NIN database will help nab criminals facing legal hassles on the national and international note and will help curb cybercrime on an overall note.

 

The post Nigeria blocks 73 million mobile numbers for security reasons appeared first on Cybersecurity Insiders.