We are InfoSec: Members of the Information Security Department at KAUST.

Our mission: To enable you to be a Human Firewall by shielding yourself, your family and KAUST from today’s cyber attacks. 

Mobile devices like your smartphone and tablet store a tremendous amount of personal and sensitive information, including your contacts, photos, text messages and online activity. As such, be sure to protect these devices.They're powerful tools and ones that we want you to enjoy and use. Just remembering these few simple steps can go a long way in keeping you and your mobile device secure.

However, it may surprise you to know that the biggest risk to your mobile devices is not cyber attackers; it is most likely you. You are far more likely to lose, forget or have your mobile device stolen rather than to have someone hack into it. The number one thing you can do to protect your mobile device is enable automatic locking of the screen. This means that every time you want to use your mobile device, you first have to unlock the screen with a strong passcode, swiping pattern or your fingerprint. This ensures that if your mobile device is lost or stolen, no one can access it, protecting all of your personal information, your mobile apps and anything else on it.

Here are additional tips to help protect your mobile device.

Choose mobile apps from only trusted sources and only install the apps you need. Before downloading a new mobile app, check how many people have downloaded the app and their reviews. If the app is very new, few people have downloaded the app or the app has a large number of negative reviews, don’t download it and find a different one. In addition, if the app requires excessive permissions like always tracking your location, consider finding an alternative.

Being careful with the mobile apps you download will protect you from cyber criminals who distribute apps that look legitimate but are really programs designed to infect your devices. In addition, once you install a mobile app, make sure you are always using the latest version.

Just like your mobile apps, you also want to make sure you are always using the latest operating system for your device and keeping it updated. Consider purchasing a new mobile device if it no longer supports the latest operating system.

Never tamper with or hack your mobile device, which is often called jailbreaking. Your mobile device has numerous security features built into it, all designed to protect you and your information. If you jailbreak your device, most of these security features will be crippled or disabled.

Another step you can take to protect yourself is disabling Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on your mobile devices when these services are not in use. Not only does this protect your mobile device from automatically connecting to potentially dangerous networks without you knowing it, but it also helps improve your device’s battery life.

Remember, mobile attacks can happen via various methods, including email, messaging or online.

Now is the time to be a Human Firewall! 

If you haven’t already done so before, you can logon to https://humanfirewall.kaust.edu.sa and learn more by going through our eLearning courses.

You can also reach out to us to attend our monthly security awareness sessions to learn the latest tricks cyber attackers are using and how you can spot and defend against them. 

The lessons you will learn will help to protect you, whether at work or at home. We want you to be a Human Firewall, and your mission starts now.

For more information, please contact us at: askinfosec@kaust.edu.sa. 

This article was developed by KAUST’s Information Security Team using material provided by SANS Security Awareness – SANS