Cybercrime Is Showing A Trend Towards Mobile Bots

Mobile Security is like hitting a constantly moving target. In an ever-changing environment, security professionals are watching the digital landscape for new ways that criminals are trying to break down their defences.

Alongside this, the way we use the internet is changing. Money and mobile are now inextricably linked, with 58% of digital transactions coming from a mobile device. It’s now possible to book a holiday, buy an outfit and order your dinner all from your smartphone.

Just as our browsing habits are changing, so are the ways that online threats present themselves. Now, one third of all fraud targets a mobile device. Considering that we manage everything, from our social lives to our banking, on a mobile phone, it’s vital that this threat is monitored and managed wherever possible.

The rising risk of bots

The most efficient way that mobile devices are being compromised is a bot attack. Bot attacks are growing in popularity, increasing by 60% between Q1 and Q2 in 2018.

Research has found that when access is gained to a mobile device, the data within is used to teach algorithms the best way to attack other devices. What’s more, the AI chatbots that we know and often use can be repurposed to trick customers into sharing personal information. We may not trust a phone call from a bank that we didn’t request, but we may feel better giving information to a branded bank live chat.

The only way to protect customers against mobile bot threats is to observe and adapt. If both attackers and organisations are using the same technology, there is a responsibility to be one step ahead. It’s a necessity to make sure that machine learning can tell the difference between a true customer and a bot making an attempt to access. This can mean a knowledge of natural typing patterns, common answers, further authentication methods and more. For those not using AI internally, it’s a case of being alert and establishing foolproof authentication processes to protect the data of the business and customer.

Protect your business with MobiCode

This requirement to observe and adapt is best fulfilled with a network. Sharing information between organisations allows everybody to fight threats with the most up-to-date information. As the same attacks are being used between organisations and industries, the most effective way to combat them is with knowledge sharing in the same space. With an attack method based on a network, bringing it down takes a network in return. This is a similar basis to that used by Mobicode to prevent personal information being harvested from secondhand or recycled devices.

Mobicode is built on a network based security model. Our MobiWIPE platform is built reactively. We know how, in the wrong hands, data can be mined from an old handset or device, then use this knowledge to wipe data from places that other providers may not even know where to look. What’s more, MobiCHECK combines a wide range of datasets from others with the comprehensive information we have collected internally to provide one of the most complete device checks available.