Mobile security is fast becoming a top priority for companies today. And for good reason, since pretty much every company employee now daily accesses corporate data from their smartphone. However, keeping important data out of the wrong hands is proving more and more complicated every day.

This, in turn, is a huge problem because, financially speaking, the stakes have never been higher. A corporate data breach today reportedly costs approximately USD 3.8 million dollars – with figures projected to rise annually.

Most people associate mobile security with practices such as SMS spoofing, toll fraud and malware threats. Funny enough, mobile malware infections – the first and foremost of threats in public opinion, are a pretty uncommon occurrence nowadays. Most devices have inbuilt factory protections from this type of threat.

Realistically, the greatest mobile security dangers lurk where most people do not expect them.

Cybercrime and Mobile Devices

Perhaps one of biggest contributors to the increasing risk of mobile security threats comes from our consumer culture. Namely, the desire to be early-adopters of new tech outpaced our ability to secure our mobile lives. And who’s lives – professional and personal, are not today on their phones?

Because of this mobile devices are at the very frontline in the battle against cybercrime. They are the weak link in security that criminals can exploit to their profit – 60% of all cyber security breaches happen through mobile devices.

Some of the biggest and most common mobile security threats include:

Data Leakage

Basically all of the major concerns concerning mobile security, from data loss and theft to malicious applications, are sources of data leakage.

In 2019, data leakage was considered the biggest problem to mobile security. And while the chances of us getting infected by malware are relatively small, the odds of us experiencing a data breach over the next two years are almost one in three – which is to say, close to 30%.

The most troubling fact here is that there doesn’t have to be a third-party attack for a data breach to occur. In fact, they usually happen because people make bad decisions in terms of which apps have insight into their data or are used for transfers.

Advertising Frauds

Like in most cases, we just need to follow the money and it will bring us what we are looking for. According to reports, the global mobile advertising market reached a value of USD 66.6 Billion in 2019 – and is expected to reach USD 266 billion by 2025.

It should come as no surprise that cybercriminals find sector so attractive, coming up with new ways to syphon cash from mobile ad revenue streams. According to estimates, the damages caused by these activities will reach USD 100 billion by 2023.

Advertising frauds take many a guise – the most common are associated with using malware to generate clicks on ads, making them seem to come from legal sources. And since advertisers are commonly paid by the number of clicks they generate, this allows mobile ad fraudsters to steal money from corporate advertising budgets.

Social Engineering

An oldie but goldie in terms of the tricks up a cybercriminal’s sleeve, and it works just as well on our mobile devices as it did desktops. Ironically, social engineering cons are something that you can avoid easily, while at the same time being devilishly effective.

Statistics show that more than 90 percent of all cybercrime begins with an email. Such incidents are called malware less attacks. They include a criminal impersonating someone else to force their victims to click on dangerous link or obtain sensitive info.

Mobile users are particularly vulnerable to these techniques since most email clients only display the sender’s name on the device. Because of that, users are much likelier to respond to the phishing attack, thinking that the email comes from a legitimate source.

Wi-Fi interference

Public Wi-Fi networks are a lot less safe than most people assume. In turn, the security of the network that transmits data directly influences our mobile device’s security.

We are approximately three times as likely to use a Wi-Fi network as we are to use cellular data. Around 25 percent of devices connect to open and potentially unsafe Wi-Fi networks.

If you are experiencing any of the following symptoms, there is a good chance that Wi-Fi interference is in play:

• Low signal strength even when close to the broadcast device;
• Much slower connection to the internet over Wi-Fi;
• Slow file transfers between computers over Wi-Fi;
• Inability to pair Wi-Fi or Bluetooth devices; and,
• Intermittent breaks in your Wi-Fi connection.

Physical Mobile Breaches

Markedly less sophisticated than those involving high-tech solutions, this is still a very realistic threat. Losing or leaving your device in the open is a major mobile security risk. This is especially true when considering the lax approach employed by many when it comes to the protection protocols on their phones.

Studies show that approximately 30 percent of people have no security measures in place on their corporate mobile devices. It gets even worse. A staggering 50 percent of the people included in the research said that they have neither a password, PIN nor biometric security measures on their devices.

And still it gets worse – almost 70 percent of people use the same passwords on their work and personal devices.

The Take-Away

Mobile security ranks very high on the list of concerns for most companies. That means that keeping sensitive information safe is an increasingly complex job.  And the stakes are pretty high for companies that do not take mobile security seriously.

While passwords and pin codes are possibly not the best way to secure data, that is no reason to use pin codes like “1234” or passwords like “password”.

The message companies should take home is that you should not leave this huge responsibility in the hands of your employees. Don’t assume that nothing will happen, that your employees are too smart to fall for phishing scams.

Just because nobody in your company replied to that Nigerian Prince’s email, doesn’t mean you are out of the woods. Plan ahead, implement correct practices, create policies and keep your mobile devices safe.

Nowadays, social media platforms are a primary channel of communication and source of information. Therefore, social media threat monitoring is an essential part of online protection.

Malicious content, numerous types of risk, and threats have a trend of accelerated growth. With thousands of newly registered users every day from around the world, social media threat monitoring requires constant efforts and improvement.

Even though almost everybody is online, not many people are familiar with the principles of internet security. Cybersecurity, public data protection, online bullying, or phishing remain unknown practices to many.

However, when it comes to the protection of your company or brand, social media threat monitoring is so important. Without this security precaution system, you can easily find yourself on target of criminals, competitors, or any other malicious third side.

Let’s find out what the primary purpose of social media threat monitoring is and what the challenges that a growing global society brings are. The subject is fascinating, and more importantly – useful and essential for safe online existence and working in the modern world.

So, here’s what social media threat monitoring is all about.

Social Media and Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity entails the safeguard of internet-connected systems that includes hardware, software, and database from break-ins, unauthorized doings, malicious damage, viruses, and other cyber threats.

Even though most definitions demonstrate the predominance of a technical perspective when it comes to online security, social media shows its different side. One’s safety can be endangered by human activities and interactions.

Cyber threats represent one of the biggest threats in the modern world. This is because almost every individual, small company, large private corporation, or state department has to maintain an internet presence in order to deliver its full potential. This leaves them vulnerable to unknown attackers that can inflict massive losses without them even noticing.

Cyber threats are a combination of several, diverse malicious factors in cyberspace. They can steal information and damage communication systems. Cyber threats and attacks can be executed by different entities:

• states,
• corporations,
• specialized malware companies,
• dissatisfied individuals,
• terrorists,
• botnet operators, and,
• individuals who abuse the Internet and social media networks

It is an indisputable fact that the Internet offers many advantages. Still, there are many downsides to it – and some with exceptionally negative effects. This primarily refers to the abuse of both social networks and the Internet in general.

Social media threat monitoring helps us recognize and prevent potential dangers and keep our clients’ online identities and databases intact.

Social Media Threats

Talking about safety on social media platforms, the possibility for an individual to protect himself is disgracefully small. Especially when combined with low awareness among Internet users when it comes to online abuse and its possible consequences. This state shows a general lack of education in this area and the unpopularity of this topic among the users.

The dangers that most often lurk on social media are:

• various forms of violence,
• misuse of personal data and photographs,
• Diverse illegal and harmful content on the Internet,
• Forms of persecution and harassment,
• Financial scams, and,
• Malware and phishing.

However, one of the biggest dangers of operating on the Internet is so-called cyberbullying. The possible consequences can be severe, starting with hurt feelings and even attempting or committing suicide.

When it comes to the business side of the problem, many companies that use social media channels to promote their business, communicate with customers, and operations are also in danger.

In the modern world, any form of business that doesn’t exist online is doomed. Estimates show that these companies have about 2 years before going under. Therefore, it doesn’t come as a surprise that everyone is on social networks – businesses depend on it.

Social Media Monitoring

For those who want to exploit the sharing of public data for malicious purposes, social media has proved to be an invaluable instrument. Numerous cyber and physical safety threats are made possible by many seemingly harmless social media posts.

Oversharing also allows bad guys to gather all the required public data. Poor security leaves business social media accounts and company employees vulnerable to monitoring by rivals, industrial spies, governments, and other third sides.

Threats from social media are growing at a rapid pace.

Your business can face social media impersonations, scams, financial risks, leakage of information, and physical threats. Cyber attackers can harm your reputation, customer experience, interrupt business activities, or steal from you.

Threat monitoring

Social media threat monitoring helps with maintaining high-security levels while continuously identifying threats and vulnerabilities across social media platforms.

The main stages of social media threat monitoring are:

• Identification – every business has its own criteria when it comes to online security goals.
• Verification – every post needs to be verified in order not to cause harm.
• Monitoring – continuous observance of online activity, with special attention to risky actions.
• Notification – agreed-upon ways of alerting and threat addressing.

Social media threat monitoring usually happens on the public side of the Internet. Still, sometimes it extends to the sections of the internet not indexed by Google – the so-called deep or dark web.

Analysts who are conducting the monitoring, need to efficiently cover hundreds of digital points of data and posts to protect businesses, customers, and employees. They need to employ adaptive and predictive strategies in order to detect and block social media threats.

Therefore, the main challenges of social media threat monitoring are knowing where to look and how to cope with an endless amount of information that multiplies every second. To this aim companies often use specially designed software and tools.

It’s Not Sugar, Spice & Everything Nice

It takes seconds to open an account on any social media platform.

The lack of legal norms, warnings, and knowledge of social media threats make the situation very convenient for cybercriminals. Individual user and company profiles and online data can easily be stolen. As more business is done online, more private information is circulating on the internet.

Nowadays, companies can`t always protect themselves from online financial scams, industrial espionage, data leakage, fake accounts, and so on. Therefore, social media threat monitoring is necessary to protect their reputation, customers, and business overall.

Social media threat monitoring is a complex process that requires staying abreast with newly forged threats and risks. Therefore, it`s also increasingly needed in times when one’s online identity is as important as their physical identity.