Smartphone Security Unleashed

The Smartphones have the processors (CPU) , RAM memory, data storage and other components of any modern computers.  

Smartphone device that you carry with you is a computer at a first place and only then a telephone device.

Who is responsible for the information security on a Smartphone device that stores your personal data including the video and photographs files financial documents and similar?

The answer is complicated. Usually it becomes important when you get in interaction with the financial authorities for instance Banks, Credit Cards offices or healthcare services  and government institutions social security, courts, police department and so on.

Formally the providers of Smartphones and Operating Systems (OS) as well the providers of applications and owner of a Smartphone itself usually are carrying responsibility for information security but a problem seems much more wider.

If there are found any compromising information on Smartphone in most cases the responsibility would be assigned to an owner of a Smartphone i.e. you rather then to the providers of a Smartphone device, OS or the applications.

There many times when security of the Smartphone devices can be compromised even without any owners awareness while most of a control over smartphone devices belong to OS and applications providers. 

For example Android OS, iOS, messengers like Whatsap, Telegram, Viber, Skype etc.

To allow a normal work of the applications they may ask to give them an access to the contacts, files, media, phone calls, Geo-location(GPS) and many others services and data on your smartphone.      

Many times the users of Smartphones even do not aware that their devices have a problem with information integrity or have data security breaches.
 
We offer our help and assistance to let you to take control over your Smartphone device and the information on it before or after the data security breaches take place as well to find the issues.     
                                                                                                                                                        

                 Any of Smartphones users can be effected

One of the most known data security breach is NSO Pegasus software issue.

References:

- NSO Pegasus spy software

- Israel press about NSO and Pegasus 

- FBI about NSO and Pegasus

Along a live period of OS software from main providers like Google, iOS etc. (period of live i.e. from the release of a software to the EOL) there are always number of the vulnerabilities and bugs that also may lead to security breaches and data integrity issues.

References:

- Vulnerabilities and bugs examples

- 1More Vulnerabilities and bugs examples

- 2More Vulnerabilities and bugs examples

- 2023 Vulnerabilities and bugs examples

- 2024 Vulnerabilities and bugs examples

There are many other bugs and vulnerabilities that can be easily found by quick search on the Internet. One thing is sure. Even if to apply all of the advised last updates it's never going to guarantee for sure the data integrity on your Smartphone. 

The main providers of OS  on Smartphones carry endless and uncountable number of the bugs and vulnerabilities that never get solved 100% by the updates that continue until a last day of OS software live period. Even if to follow all of the updates after few days or weeks or maximum months a vendor would tell your about a need to apply the new updates . Otherwise they cannot guarantee the data integrity of a Smartphone.Always the new updates solve the known bugs but after some time a provider discovers the new bugs and so on.There is another interesting point. Most of the known modern providers of the OS for Smartphones assign you as an user with a very limited rights on a Smartphone device.

Clear that the updates and upgrades that advised by OS vendors of  the Smartphones is not enough for good and sustainable data integrity and security.

There is a way in IT industry to insure the data integrity of software and hardware setup that known as 'hardening'.The method used as addition to the updates and upgrades of OS and applications on a Smartphone .As a first step we need to setup Smartphone OS with ROOT user (ROOTING device) then a customer get administration ROOT access on his Smartphone. This is going to allow much better control of the customers over their Smartphone. In addition we do a hardening of the software and hardware setup.

The way known as 'hardening' of the software and hardware settings.All of the current OS Smartphones providers setup by default their OS with user that has a limited access (not ROOT user). They want to keep for themselves a control over the Smartphones. Try to read "Term of Use" that customers of Smartphones sign almost always automatically while not pay attentions for the details. If you would read the "Term of Use" you can see that you sign usually agreement for allow to the providers of Smartphones to spy behind you and to collect the data about you.Including Video Camera, Audio and other data from the Smartphones. More then this you sign that you allow to the Smartphone providers to share the data with the third parties. This what is actually the customers of main Smartphones companies for instance Apple or Samsung sign when do an initial setup for the Smartphones. The companies use for a spy goal the applications on their servers side. Consider that most of the applications installed on the Smartphone devices are based on a server-client principles. Including Operating System(OS) On the Smartphone devices almost always you install the applications that are "Clients" part while the server's side always run on a side of the applications providers computers. The servers side almost always is determining part of the applications.The server side has administrative permissions while a client side in most cases has only a limited user with minimum level of access rights.

The OS 'hardening' is additional level to upgrade and updates and it's a one of the known modern sophisticated ways to allow for software of OS and the applications to work much more secure and stable.Before hardening of OS and applications we need to proceed with ROOTING of OS. If you decided to try a way that we advise for control your Smartphone device please click the next link Get control over your Smartphone