Authors: Ashton Walden
Mentors: Sayeed Sajal
Insitution: Utah Valley University
Cyber attacks are at an all-time high and mobile devices are some of the most highly targeted devices today. This is due to the shifting landscape of the workforce brought on by the coronavirus. December 12th, 2019 saw the first patients in the Hubei Province of China experience symptoms of what would become known as the Coronavirus that would eventually cause a global pandemic. Little did anyone know at this time the world would change drastically because of this virus. One of the areas that was hit the hardest was the global workforce. Many
industries were forced to shut down or adopt a method of remote work. This led to companies adopting either a mobile device management system or a bring-your-own-device policy. Cybercriminals took notice of this abrupt shift and began taking advantage of the many vulnerabilities of mobile devices. This paper investigates those vulnerabilities, how cybercriminals take advantage of those vulnerabilities, and what can be done to prevent attacks on mobile devices. Interviews were conducted with 10 separate iPhone users on their mobile device habits and their basic knowledge of mobile device safety. Various papers related to the topic as well as industry-leading websites were consulted for industry standards and statistics as
well as safety recommendations. Through multiple interviews and analysis, I have found that many users have a strong sense of confidence in their phone’s built-in privacy and security protections and many believe that this is sufficient cyber security and leaves them with little to no vulnerabilities. I have also found that security incidents on mobile devices are not uncommon, one 2021 report even showed that 46% of companies reported a security threat stemming from a malicious mobile application installed by an employee. I have concluded that as a result of many individuals believing that their mobile devices have pre-installed security measures they are not at risk of an attack. This may lead them to indeed become more vulnerable as cyber attacks on mobile devices and mobile device management systems have become extremely common in the modern world.