So are you a member of that increasing tribe around the world that uses a dating app to meet someone “interesting”. Let us then tell you that a recent study by IBM has found that such apps are prone to be hacked & your precious, private info be stolen.
Here are some steps you may take to stop that from happening:
For singles
- Be Mysterious: Don’t divulge too much personal information on these sites such as where you work, birthday or social media profiles until you’re comfortable with the person you are engaging with via the app.
- Permission Fitness: Figure out if you want to use an app by checking the permissions it asks for by viewing the settings on your mobile device. When updating, apps often automatically reset the permissions determining what phone features they have access to, like your address book or GPS data.
- Keep it Unique: Use unique passwords for every Online account you have. If you use the same password for all your accounts it can leave you open to multiple attacks if one account is compromised.
- Punctual Patching: Always apply the latest patches and updates to your apps & your device when they become available. This will fix any identified bugs in your device and applications, resulting in a more secure experience.
- Trusted Connections: Use only trusted Wi Fi connections when on your dating app. Hackers love using fake Wi Fi access points that connect you directly to their device to execute these types of attacks. Many of the vulnerabilities found in this research can be exploited via Wi Fi.
What Can Enterprises Do?
Businesses also need to be prepared to protect themselves from vulnerable dating apps active inside their infrastructure, especially for Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) scenarios. IBM found that nearly 50% of organizations sampled for this research had at least one of these popular dating apps installed on corporate-owned or personal mobile devices used for work. To protect confidential corporate assets, businesses should:
- Adopt the Right Protection: Leverage Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) offerings with mobile threat management (MTM) capabilities to enable employees to utilize their own devices while still maintaining the security of the organization.
- Define Downloadable Apps: Allow employees to only download applications from authorized app stores such as Google Play, iTunes, and the corporate app store.
- Education is Key: Educate employees to know the dangers of downloading third party applications and what it means when they grant that app specific device permissions.
- Immediately Communicate Potential Threats: Set automated policies on smartphones and tablets, which take immediate action if a device is found compromised or malicious apps are discovered. This enables protection to corporate resources while the issue is remediated.
(Tips provided by IBM Security Intelligence)
Graphic Credit: PixTeller
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