Awareness To Allow Applications To Read Your Data

Nowadays, some of us maybe had an experience got a story from others about some cyber criminal hack their email / social media account. Or maybe we are the victim. Ironically, this cyber incident become a common story, sadly. Some of story might have a financial impact, such as fraud to their relatives and friends. Or it might be ask some ransom ware and promising them to recover their account immediately after they pay the money. But, there's no guarantee for that.

Since the smartphone user rapidly increase, all data unconsciously move to the smartphone. Application developer competing to create their software in mobile platform to accommodate users needs when they using the smartphone. This momentum utilized by cyber criminal to launch their attack to their target victim. 

Traps Behind Your Thumb

The risk of data exposing by unauthorized person, or maybe unconsciously by yourself,  start since you put your data into the smartphone. The risk can caused by vulnerability in smartphone operating system and/or installed application. In particular to installed application, the cyber criminal can luring their victim by exploit their errancy such as their knowledge to  detect the validity of the application and by manipulate the permission of the application in smartphone. Or it also can achieve by exploit the vulnerabilities that reside in smartphone. The other problem is reside in habit of the users to expose their smartphone by installed the application which maybe rarely to used and rarely updated.

Be a Smart Smartphone User
Every vulnerabilities have mitigations. That's the great news! Its an important to upgrade the knowledge of information security, especially for the users to prevent them to be a victim. No one wanted to be a victim. Thus, to ensure that thing wont occur these are the guideline to be follow:

1. Level of importance and usefulness of the application. Ask yourself do you need it? Do you really need it? If you really need it then you can installed the application. Why this step importance? Because we need to simplify the installed application in our smartphone. More simple impacted more easy to maintain. For example, suppose applications are the doors and we are the security team. More open doors correlated with needs of more security team to cover up. It easier for security team to control the environment if restriction applied by closing useless opened door. 
2. If you decide to install the application, only install application from trusted source. Trusted source such as Play Store for Android / App Store for IOS. Even though although the application came from those trusted store, check the developer of the application is the right one. In particular with the financial, email and online shopping application. The cyber criminal manipulate their victim by create fake application which mimic the original application. Another way to check it by read the comments other users. It will help you to reveal authenticity of the application.
3. Check the application permission. In initial phase of installation, you will be asked permission of the application. If you installed the application for photo editing, ensure it only accessing the photo and/or the camera. But, for some application might need others permission. Use your common-sense before permitting the permission. Do my location and contact really necessary for my free gaming application? If not necessary, then better to cancel the installation.
4. Remove the applications which rarely used. As mentioned in previous point, simplifying the installed application could led easiness to maintain the access. If you don't need it, why you should installed it? Thus, it will save your smartphone storage.
5. Regularly update the applications. Every application perfectly designed but might have flaws. Might caused by launching of new feature, flaw in application development, etc. As mitigation plan, the application developer regularly release the application update to patch the flaws. Some users might concern in particular with update issues such as incompatibility with existing smartphone, easiness of user interface, hardware performance, excessively consume internet quota, etc. But if those issues compare with your priceless data, is it comparable?

Stop, Think and Act.
Those 3 are the magic words would helping you to addressing cyber incident occur in your life. Stop means to get your attention. Think means to analyze the current situation. Act means to determine the action based on the analysis result. Use those 3 words especially when you encounter with harsh situation related with your priceless data!

Hopefully, this article could helping you to determine your awareness and protect your priceless data from cyber criminal.

Thank you for reading.

-EJ.