Why a secure app is not enough if your device is compromised
Using a secured messaging app on a compromised phone is like trying to lock a door with a broken window.
Sure, apps such as Signal or WhatsApp Messenger both offer security beyond the typical messaging tool. They both offer end-to-end encryption on all messages, video and voice calls, photos, and anything else you share with another contact. Neither app has to ability to decrypt the contents of your communications and Signal even encrypts the metadata transmitted between two endpoints.
But the level of security and encryption on a messaging app won’t matter if your physical device has been compromised.
More people are using their smartphones more than they use their computers, and smartphones have brought all of our data into one convenient location. Considering how much of our daily lives are in our phones - banking, purchases, contacts, passwords, travel plans - attacks on smartphones yield a much bigger reward and are much easier to accomplish. Once a hacker gets access to your phone, all of your apps are open doorways for theft.
There are several ways someone can hack a device, including phishing attacks, tracking software, Bluetooth hacking, SIM swaps, and gaining access through unsecured Wi-Fi networks.
Another factor contributing to rising security concerns in the smartphone industry is the use of spyware. These types of spyware infections can be achieved through “zero-click” attacks, which do not require any interaction from the phone’s user in order to succeed. They will often exploit flaws or bugs in an operating system that a device manufacturer is not yet aware of. The spyware is designed to bypass detection and mask its activity and needs just an operating system installed or a particular vulnerable app. Once installed on a phone, spyware can harvest personal and location data, control the microphone and camera, and access photos, browsing history, passwords, call logs, contacts, communications, and social media posts.
Very few companies manufacture true privacy and security-based smartphones and devices.
SDM’s ultra-secure smartphone provides greater control over what other people can do on their phone and encrypts data stored in the phone, which helps to ensure that no data is transmitted from the smartphone by any other party. The SDM endpoint solution, Realm OS, is a customized operating system that allows users to use multiple physically separated instances simultaneously on a single piece of hardware. Only approved apps can be downloaded to a device which greatly decrease attacks coming in through dodgy application gateways.
Smartphone apps continually harvest loads of data, and devices are just as vulnerable to hackers and malware but harder to protect. This is why using a security-based smartphone has become vital to regaining and maintaining your privacy.