How do hackers hack phones? Several ways. Just as there are several ways you can prevent it from happening to you.
The thing is that our phones are like little treasure chests. They’re loaded with plenty of personal data, and we use them to shop, bank, and take care of other personal and financial matters—all of which are of high value to identity thieves.
However, you can protect yourself and your phone by knowing what to look out for and by taking a few simple steps. Let’s break it down by first taking a look at some of the more common attacks.
Whether hackers sneak it onto your phone by physically accessing your phone or by tricking you into installing it via a phony app, a sketchy website, or a phishing attack, hacking software can create problems for you in a couple of ways:
Some possible signs of hacking software on your phone include:
In all, hacking software can eat up system resources, create conflicts with other apps, and use your data or internet connection to pass along your personal information into the hands of hackers—all of which can lead to some of the symptoms listed above.
These are a classic form of attack. In fact, hackers have leveled them at our computers for years now too. Phishing is where hackers impersonate a company or trusted individual to get access to your accounts or personal info or both. And these attacks take many forms, like emails, texts, instant messages, and so forth, some of which can look really legitimate. Common to them are links to bogus sites that attempt to trick you into handing over that info or that install malware to wreak havoc on your device or likewise steal information. Learning how to spot a phishing attack is one way to keep yourself from falling victim to one.
Professional hackers can use dedicated technologies that search for vulnerable mobile devices with an open Bluetooth connection. Hackers can pull off these attacks when they are range of your phone, up to 30 feet away, usually in a populated area. When hackers make a Bluetooth connection to your phone, they can possibly access your data and info, yet that data and info must be downloaded while the phone is within range. As you probably gathered, this is a more sophisticated attack given the effort and technology involved.
In August of 2019, the CEO of Twitter had his SIM card hacked by SIM card swapping scam. SIM card swapping occurs when a hacker contacts your phone provider, pretends to be you, and then asks for a replacement SIM card. Once the provider sends the new SIM to the hacker, the old SIM card will be deactivated, and your phone number will be effectively stolen. This means the hacker has taken control of your phone calls, messages, and so forth. This method of hacking requires the seemingly not-so-easy task of impersonating someone else, yet clearly, it happened to the CEO of a major tech company. Protecting your personal info and identity online can help prevent hackers from impersonating you to pull off this and other crimes.
While there are several ways a hacker can get into your phone and steal personal and critical information, here are a few tips to keep that from happening:
The post How Do Hackers Hack Phones and How Can I Prevent It? appeared first on McAfee Blog.
Smartphones have become such an integral part of our lives that it’s hard to imagine a time when we didn’t have them. We carry so much of our lives on our devices, from our social media accounts and photos of our pets to our banking information and home addresses. Whether it be just for fun or for occupational purposes, so much of our time and attention is spent on our smartphones.
Because our mobile devices carry so much valuable information, it’s important that we stay educated on the latest cyber schemes so we can be prepared to combat them and keep our data safe. According to Bleeping Computer, researchers have developed a trojan proof of concept tool that fakes a shutdown or reboot of iPhones, preventing malware from being removed and allowing hackers to secretly snoop on microphones and cameras.
Let’s dive into the details of this technique.
Typically, when an iOS device is infected with malware, the solution is as simple as just restarting the device. However, with this new technique researchers are calling “NoReboot,” ridding a device of malware is not quite as simple.
“NoReboot” blocks the shutdown and reboot process from being carried out, preventing the device from actually restarting. Without a proper shutdown and reboot, a malware infection on an iOS device can continue to exist. Because the device appears to be shut off with a dark screen, muted notifications, and a lack of response, it is easy to assume that the device has shut down properly and the problem has been solved. However, the “NoReboot” technique has only simulated a reboot, allowing a hacker to access the device and its functions, such as its camera and microphone. If a hacker has access to these functions, they could record the user without their knowledge and potentially capture private information.
This attack is not one that Apple can fix, as it relies on human-level deception rather than exploiting flaws found on iOS. That’s why it’s important that we know how to use our devices safely and stay protected.
As previously mentioned, smartphone usage takes up a big chunk of our time and attention. Since we are so often on these devices, it is usually fairly easy to tell when something isn’t working quite like it is supposed to. While these things could very well just be technical issues, sometimes they are much more than that, such as malware being downloaded onto your smartphone.
Malware can eat up the system resources or conflict with other apps on your device, causing it to act oddly.
Some possible signs that your device has been hacked include:
A slower device, webpages taking way too long to load, or a battery that never keeps a charge are all things that can be attributed to a device reaching its retirement. However, these things may also be signs that malware has compromised your phone.
Malware running in the background of a device may burn extra computing power, causing your phone to feel hot and overheated. If your device is quick to heat up, it may be due to malicious activity.
If apps you haven’t downloaded suddenly appear on your screen, or if outgoing calls you don’t remember making pop up on your phone bill, that is a definite red flag and a potential sign that your device has been hacked.
Malware may also be the cause of odd or frequent pop-ups, as well as changes made to your home screen. If you are getting an influx of spammy ads or your app organization is suddenly out of order, there is a big possibility that your device has been hacked.
To avoid the hassle of having a hacked phone in the first place, here are some tips that may help.
Promptly updating your phone and apps is a primary way to keep your device safe. Updates often fix bugs and vulnerabilities that hackers rely on to download malware for their attacks.
Apple’s App Store and Google Play have protections in place to help ensure that apps being downloaded are safe. Third-party sites may not have those same protections or may even be purposely hosting malicious apps to scam users. Avoiding these sites altogether can prevent these apps from allowing hackers into your device.
Hackers may use public Wi-Fi to gain access to your device and the information you have inside of it. Using a VPN to ensure that your network is private and only you can access it is a great way to stay protected on the go.
Turning off your Wi-Fi and Bluetooth when you are not actively using them is a simple way to prevent skilled hackers from working their way into your devices.
Some hackers have been known to install malware into public charging stations and hack into devices while they are being charged. Investing in your own personal portable charging packs is an easy way to avoid this type of hack.
Encrypting your phone can protect your calls, messages, and information, while also protecting you from being hacked. iPhone users can check their encryption status by going into Touch ID & Passcode, scrolling to the bottom, and seeing if data protection is enabled.
Although researchers agree that you can never trust a device to be fully off, there are some techniques that can help you determine whether your device was rebooted correctly.2 If you do suspect that your phone was hacked or notice some suspicious activity, restart your device. To do this, press and hold the power button and either volume button until you are prompted to slide the button on the screen to power off. After the device shuts down and restarts, notice if you are prompted to enter your passcode to unlock the device. If not, this is an indicator that a fake reboot just occurred. If this happens, you can wait for the device to run out of battery, although researchers have not verified that this will completely remove the threat.
If you are worried that your device has been hacked, follow these steps:
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