Mobile security

Our mobile devices are more than just phones for making calls. They accompany us everywhere and store a huge range of personal data. This is why it’s so important to keep our smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices protected.

Just like your computer at home, your mobile devices can be hacked and infected with a virus. This could give other people unauthorised access to your personal information and could lead to account compromise, privacy invasion and identity theft.

We recommend taking the following steps to secure your mobile devices:

1. Set your device to automatically lock after a short amount of time and require a unique password, PIN, gesture, or fingerprint for access. You can enable this in your device settings.
2. Consider creating a password for new app installations. Again, this can be enabled in your device settings.
3. Use Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) wherever possible. MFA is a special security measure that you can add to your online accounts. Instead of just using a password, it requires you to input a combination of security information. It prevents people from accessing your account, even if they know your password. Learn how to set up MFA now.
4. Turn off Bluetooth and wi-fi when you are not using them to prevent hackers connecting to your device. Make sure your device does not automatically connect to new wi-fi networks without your confirmation.
5. Restrict the access your apps have to your camera, microphone and location. You can enable this in your device settings.
6. Register with a device tracker, such as Find my iPhone or Android Device Manager, so you can locate your device if it is lost or stolen, and remotely lock or wipe it if necessary.

TIP: the most important thing you can do to protect your mobile devices is to use automatic updates to make sure new operating system updates are downloaded as soon as they are available. This should be turned on by default, but you can check in your device settings to make sure.