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In this lesson, we'll dive into the world

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of mobile vulnerabilities and attacks.

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Now, our mobile devices,

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such as our smartphones, tablets, and wearables,

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have become an indispensable part of our daily lives.

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These devices are used to connect us, entertain us,

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and increasingly secure and manage

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our personal and professional data.

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Yet, the convenience provided by these mobile devices

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really is a double-edged sword,

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because the very features that make them

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so valuable to us as users

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are also going to expose us to a myriad

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of different vulnerabilities and potential attacks.

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To secure our mobile devices

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and the data they contain,

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we have to first understand the mobile vulnerabilities,

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including things like sideloading, jailbreaking, rooting,

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and insecure connection methods,

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as well as how to mitigate against these vulnerabilities,

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and how we can use a mobile device management solution

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to best minimize the other risks

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associated with mobile devices.

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Now, first, we have a vulnerability known as sideloading.

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Sideloading refers to the practice

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of installing applications on a device

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from unofficial sources, which actually bypasses

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the device's default application store.

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While it may be useful in certain situations,

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sideloading is also dangerous,

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because it can introduce malware

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or malicious apps onto a device,

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because the application files are not scanned or verified

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by your mobile device's provider's

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app store submission process.

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To ensure your device remains secure,

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you should avoid sideloading, and instead,

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always download apps from the official and trusted sources,

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like your mobile device's official app store,

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because these platforms often have

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a strict review process in place,

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to ensure all of their apps are free from malicious code.

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Second, we can have a lot of vulnerabilities

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added to our devices if we jailbreak or root our device.

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Now, jailbreaking on iPhones, and iPads,

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and rooting on Android-based devices

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is considered to be a process that gives the users

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escalated permissions on their devices,

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and allows them to circumvent built-in security measures

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provided by the device.

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Jailbreaking and rooting is usually done so that a user

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can have greater device customization capabilities,

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but this process does expose your device

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to potential security breaches, too.

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After all, your mobile device manufacturer

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regularly provides updates to their devices

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to combat new vulnerabilities

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that are being discovered all the time,

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but if you jailbreak or root your device,

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you're unable to install these updates,

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and your device will be vulnerable

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to these newly discovered attacks and exploits.

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So, it's a good idea to keep

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your device's original security setting,

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to ensure you remain protected against any known threats.

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Third, insecure connection methods

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can be another large area of vulnerability for us.

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Since our mobile devices will usually rely

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on wireless connections like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth

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for their connectivity needs,

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these devices can be exploited by an attacker

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if you're using insecure connection methods

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when you connect to those wireless networks or connections.

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When you're using your mobile devices,

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you should always avoid using open Wi-Fi networks

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or pairing with unknown devices over Bluetooth,

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because both of these can expose

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your mobile devices to eavesdropping,

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an on-path attack, unauthorized data access,

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or other types of malicious attacks.

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Instead of relying on open Wi-Fi networks,

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you should instead use your device's

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own cellular data connection,

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because they are considered to be much more trustworthy

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and secure than a Wi-Fi connection is.

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Additionally, if you are going to use a Wi-Fi network,

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you should use one that's protected

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by a robust authentication system,

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like one with a long, strong, and complex password,

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or one that uses 802.1x authentication methods

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for even higher levels of security.

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Also, when you're using Bluetooth,

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you want to connect to only known devices,

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and ensure that your device is set to non-discoverable

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when you're not pairing it.

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So, now that we understand

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some of the different vulnerabilities

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and how we can mitigate them,

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let's take a look at a specialized product

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known as mobile device management.

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Now, a mobile device management, or MDM solution,

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will help to minimize the risk

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associated with mobile vulnerabilities

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by ensuring that regular patching,

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device configuration management,

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and best practice enforcement

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are occurring within your organization.

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Mobile device management solutions can be used

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to conduct regular patching of your devices

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by pushing any necessary updates to your devices,

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in order to ensure that they're always equipped

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with the latest security patches.

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Another key function of a mobile device management solution

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is to enforce configuration management

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on all of your devices.

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By relying on an MDM solution,

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we can set a standardized configuration

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for all of our devices,

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to ensure that our devices are all meeting

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our organization security benchmarks

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and baseline configurations.

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Also, we can use a mobile device management solution

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to enforce the use of best practices

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on our organization's devices.

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For example, we can disable

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a device's ability to sideload programs,

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to detect if a device has been jailbroken or rooted,

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and to force each device to use a VPN connection

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when it connects back

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to your organization's data repositories

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over a Wi-Fi or cellular connection,

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all by enforcing this inside of our MDM solution.

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So, remember, our mobile devices

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are powerful and convenient,

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but they also are vulnerable

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to a wide range of threats and attacks.

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Whether it's the temptation to sideload that must-have app,

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the allure of jailbreaking or rooting your device,

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so you have additional functionalities

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and configuration options,

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or the oversight of connecting

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to an unsecured Wi-Fi network.

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The risk to your devices

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and the data they contain are very real.

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However, by understanding these different vulnerabilities

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and implementing best practices,

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and a robust mobile device management solution,

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you can enjoy the benefits of your devices,

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while still ensuring that your data remain safe and secure.