[LINK] NSA iPhone and Android Security And Privacy Best Practice Advice

[Stephen Loosley]

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NSA Warns iPhone And Android Users To Turn It Off And On Again

By Davey Winder Senior Contributor May 30, 2024, 02:00pm EDT
https://www.forbes.com/sites/daveywinder/2024/05/30/nsa-warns-iphone--android-users-to-turn-it-off-and-on-again/

Turn off your phone once every week, spooks say. GETTY IMAGE


“NSA iPhone And Android Device Security And Privacy Best Practice Advice”

https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/21018353/nsa-mobile-device-best-practices.pdf



Although some people might worry about the National Security Agency itself spying on their phones, the NSA has some sage advice for iPhone and android users concerned about zero-click exploits and the like: turn it off and on again once per week.

How often do you turn off your iPhone or android device? Completely turn it off and then reboot it, rather than just going into standby mode, that is. I suspect that the answer for many people is only when a security or operating system update requires it.

That, according to the NSA, could be a big mistake.


“NSA iPhone And Android Device Security And Privacy Best Practice Advice”

https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/21018353/nsa-mobile-device-best-practices.pdf

In a document detailing several mobile device best practices, the NSA recommends users turn their devices off and then back on once every week to protect against zero-click exploits, which attackers often use to eavesdrop on and collect data from phones.

Users can mitigate the threat of spear-phishing, which can lead to the installation of yet more malware and spyware, by the same simple action.

However, the NSA document does warn that the turn it off and on again advice will only sometimes prevent these attacks from being successful.

“Threats to mobile devices are more prevalent and increasing in scope and complexity,” the NSA said while warning that some smartphone features “provide convenience and capability but sacrifice security.” As such, doing something is always better than doing nothing when it comes to being proactive about your device and data security.


Balancing Smartphone Convenience And Security

The NSA also advises Phone users to disable Bluetooth when not using it, update the device as soon as possible when operating system and application updates become available and disable location services when not needed.

The small matter of security over convenience comes into play for much of the advice given, as you can tell already. Throw in not using public Wi-Fi networks (these are usually perfectly safe) and not using public charging stations (ditto), and many users are likely to roll the dice.

All that said, I heartily agree with the on and off again advice as this only takes a minute or two of your week and is a good habit to get into. In fact, I’d say get into the habit of doing so every day, maybe as part of your bedtime routine.

FORBES

By Davey Winder
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Davey is a four-decade veteran technology journalist and contributing editor at PC Pro magazine, a position he has held since the first issue was published in 1994. You can follow Davey on Mastodon, Twitter/X and most social networks as happygeek. Davey has spent more than 30 years as a freelance technology journalist. The author of 25 published books, Davey's work has appeared in The Times, The Sunday Times, The Guardian, The Observer, PC Pro, The Register, Infosecurity Magazine, SC Magazine, IT Pro and TechFinitive to name but a very few.  Along the way, he has picked up a bunch of awards from his peers, including: 'Most Educational Content' (2021 European Blogger of the Year Awards) - 'Cyber Writer of the Year' (2020 Security Serious Awards) - 'Enigma Award' (2011 BT Security Awards)  - 'Security Journalist of the Year' (2010 BT Security Awards) - 'Security Journalist of the Year' (2008 BT Security Awards) - 'Security Journalist of the Year' (2006 BT Security Awards) - 'Technology Journalist of the Year' (1996 BT Technology Journalism Awards)