Many countries are experiencing a decline in democracy. Meanwhile, attacks on mobile devices are becoming more sophisticated, and advances in AI technology have made it easier to monitor the vast amounts of data flowing through mobile networks. Today, it is more important than ever to protect the information you carry around in your pocket. Sectra’s Dennis Buchinhoren reveals how these challenges could affect individuals carrying sensitive information, and how the threats can be addressed.
Mobile devices have become widely adopted and are integral to our lives, making them attractive targets for attackers. These devices often store sensitive data, creating opportunities for attackers to steal or exploit personal and financial information. Additionally, users are often less aware of security issues on mobile devices compared to computers, making it easier for attackers to take advantage of their vulnerabilities.
In regular use, mobile phones and other devices like laptops and tablets are specifically designed to connect to the internet and other networked devices as easily and quickly as possible. We expect to automatically get a prompt for free Wi-Fi connections when they are available, and these days we expect our phones to link up to our car to play our favorite songs over Bluetooth. If the automatic connection doesn’t become immediately apparent, we assume that something is wrong. However, this ease of use can also create potential attack vectors.
Certain countries have gained notoriety for their extensive surveillance operations and their increasing disregard for international norms surrounding privacy and communications interception. This poses a significant threat when foreign, untrusted cellular operators collaborate with potential adversaries. Moreover, it raises concerns that sensitive information might be compromised as well as an individual’s rights violated.
If you connect your mobile device to a network in an unprotected way, it is possible for others to see what services you are connecting to, which in itself is a security risk even if the information you share with those services is not accessible to them. Additionally, the cellular operator can track your movements and geographical whereabouts within the country by closely monitoring your phone’s unique signature and position in the cellular network. This allows for a comprehensive understanding of your travel patterns.
For instance, suppose you are a business traveler from Switzerland. The local cellular network operator can accurately identify your origin by analyzing the network traffic directed towards your home country. By merging your geographical information with the network traffic, more advanced analysis becomes possible, potentially leading to an informed speculation about the company you represent.
Network vulnerabilities and malicious applications can be used to attack networked devices. In addition, vulnerabilities in the devices you bring can lead to unauthorized access, data breaches and the potential compromise of sensitive information. And, so it goes on…
Well, the necessary protective measures for your work will of course vary depending on the type of tasks you perform and the information you regularly handle. Sectra provides solutions that cater to different security levels, ranging from low to the highest.
To ensure maximum security in these situations, it is crucial to use the appropriate products that safeguard both yourself and the information you share, particularly when accessing the internet or any open networks. First of all, you need to establish a secure and protected connection between your mobile device, such as a phone, tablet or laptop, and your home network and services.
An absolutely key objective is to maintain anonymity within the network to make sure your activities are hard to detect and follow. Consequently, your online behaviors and geographical location should remain untraceable to ensure your data is secure from surveillance or potential shutdown. It is, therefore, important to use products that deliver an online presence which is both secure and difficult to detect, even in vulnerable and adverse network conditions. Crucially, when it comes to security, it is important that you have the right security solution for the right use case. If you are a journalist, diplomat or in the military and want to access the internet or any open network, you will need different solutions.
Sectra has been developing a range of obfuscation tools for a few years now to provide another layer of security that hides your mobile devices from hostile onlookers. We have different products depending on specific needs and use cases. There is no one-size-fits-all solution regarding security.
To start with, as a base protective measure we have the Stealth Connect solution, a new product, which is an innovative security gateway, designed to safeguard users in hostile network environments. The device functions as a robust network bridge and firewall, and establishes a secure connection between a mobile device, such as phone, tablet or laptop, to the home network or other attended services. The solution protects you from network-related threats and ensures that you are hard to detect and follow. This product has been frequently requested and we are delighted that we are now able to provide it.
Moving up into the cloud, we have the Network Protector system, which makes it very difficult to trace where information transmitted on public networks is coming from, and where it is going to.
If you handle highly sensitive and classified information, you will most likely need a Sectra Tiger/S secure phone. This is a quantum-resilient mobile phone that enables users to share classified information up to the classification level NATO SECRET, through encrypted speech, messaging and data transfer. With Tiger/S, the user can call someone in his, or her, closed user group who has the same device using end-to-end encryption. In short, Tiger/S bypasses the threats I described earlier and enables the user to carry on his, or her, business in the knowledge that calls are not being intercepted, data on the phone is safe and any content being transferred is secure.
These Sectra solutions I have just described, together with others in our portfolio, can be combined in different ways depending on the needs of the customer. As I mentioned before, you need to choose the right level of protection for your specific scenario.
In short, Sectra Tiger/S bypasses the threats I described earlier and enables the user to carry on his, or her, business in the knowledge that calls are not being intercepted, data on the phone is safe and any content being transferred is secure.
I have focused mainly on technical protection, i.e. how technology can protect your devices. We haven’t talked as much about what types of behaviour are safe, and how these can differ in different regions. Making smart decisions, following safe travel best practice and keeping a close eye on social engineering are also very important ways to keep yourself and your information protected.
Stay safe out there!
