The main problem of mobile device security is that mobile devices can be easily attacked at various levels. This majorly includes the inclination for malicious apps, attacks on network-level and major kind of exploitation of the various kinds of vulnerabilities that persist in the devices and also the Operating System of the mobiles. 

As the mobile devices have become increasingly important in the current era, they have also received additional attention from the emerging cybercriminals. As a result, the increasing cyber threats for mobile devices have become more dense.

1. Malignant Apps and Nasty Websites

Just like in Desktop computers, mobile devices also have access to software and internet services. Mobile bugs (i.e. malignant applications) and nasty websites can reach the exact objectives (stealing crucial data and encrypting the personal information etc.) on the mobile devices as done on traditional computers.

Malignant apps can appear in a variety of forms. The most common types of malware on mobile apps are the trojans that aid in performing the famous ad and click kind of scams.

2. Mobile Bribes or Ransomware

Mobile bribes or ransomware are types of mobile malignants but the increase in the usage of the famous mobile devices for emergence of businesses have made it a very common and most damaging kind of malware. Mobile bribes or ransomware helps in encrypting the files on a mobile and then asks for a ransom payment for providing the decryption key to the user so that they can use it to restore the access to the previously encrypted data.

3. Phishing

Phishing is the most common type of attack vector that is in today’s existence. Most famous kind of cyberattacks start with a special kind of email called phishing email. This email carries a dangerous link or a malignant attachment which contains dangerous malware. Phishing attacks on mobile devices use a variety of media for sending their links and malignants, including dangerous email, messaging system via SMS and also uses social media platforms. They also use a variety of applications.

In fact, it is of no surprise that emails are what users most commonly think of when they have heard phishing. So this makes them even more vulnerable to mobile attacks.

4. One of the famous attacks-  Man-in-the-Middle (MitM) Attacks

Man-in-the-Middle (MitM) attacks are a kind of attack that involve an attacker making use of network communications to either come in between or make changes in the data being transmitted over the network. While this kind of attacks are persistent on different systems, mobile devices are especially the ones that are most susceptible to MitM attacks. The web traffic is the one which commonly uses the encrypted HTTPS for the data communication, sending SMS messages so that they can be easily intercepted, and various mobile applications may make use of the unencrypted HTTP which is used for transfer of the sensitive information.

MitM attacks are the ones which basically require an employee who needs to be connected to an untrusted network, for example public Wi-Fi or any public cellular networks.