Risks from free apps !What we can defend against that?

   

What is risks's mean about free apps?

As more businesses accept the smart phone as a way to keep in touch with the office, it is all too attracting to reduce costs by kitting out a phone with free apps. But there is a invisible cost.

We can anticipate apps to gather some data: a review that helps the designer fix problems, performance information or location information for a routing app. But some programs gather large tranches of information, which range from the extremely individual to little thoughts that can be pieced together to recognize the person using the smart phone.

Using business software on a smart phone for next to nothing may be tempting , but while the designers won't get any payment from you, they can earn money by selling your individual information.

 Security firm Bit9 makes a research and found that on Google’s Play app store there are   more than 100,000 Android operating system programs  were "suspicious" or "questionable" last November .Due to what they did without the customer agreement . Such action contains reading through email messages ,tracking your place  , contact list access.  

What Personal information is collected and how?

A social networking app might be used for contacting with friends, but it can be a way they obtain the contact  information and details about company executives.

Another way, app operating advertisements could see inner IP details or keywords used for business wet surfing. In most situations, users are not aware of, or not able to control these advertisements ,which may be collect your information  and that are supported financially by the designers of free apps.  

"Understanding app permissions can be daunting process, even for security professionals. It's not always clear what the permissions allow the app to do, what data it will collect and importantly what it will do with that data," says David Emm, Senior Security Researcher at Kaspersky Lab,That means it is difficult to know  what an app have given itself authorization to do.

Data gathered by apps, when in the incorrect arms, could easily be used to bring out sophisticated spear-phishing attacks.

What Small business can do to protect information away from free apps’ trap?

Firstly,Small business need to implement anti-malware security on mobile phones to prevent  the increasing threats.

They also need to make a wider security strategy ,that considered every factor of how staff conduct business that contains weighing up the risks and benefits from adopting a 'bring your own device' approach and developing a policy for staff on how to reduce the risks from mobile devices.

"They also need to develop a wider security strategy that incorporates every aspect of how staff conduct business – including, but not limited to, mobile devices," says Emm. "This includes weighing up the risks and benefits from adopting a 'bring your own device' approach and developing a policy for staff on how to reduce the risks from mobile devices."

This should consist of not rooting the item, avoiding public Wi-Fi for personal transactions, not using a simple PIN and only download apps in rusted sources.

And Employees need to understand that they are handling business data and that they share responsibility for ensuring its security,

 Companies should limit the type of apps download on a device.