When you go mobile with a tablet or smartphone, there are all sorts of information that can be stolen. You may have thought about protecting laptops and desktops, but have you given any thought to protecting a mobile device in terms of data theft? Any time you send information over the web it can be stolen by someone – and this is why encryption is so important.
You may be surprised by what kind of information can be stolen from your mobile device.
–Banking information
Any time you log in to your credit card or banking profile that information is available for anyone to see unless you are on a secure connection. Whether you log on with an app or through a web browser, the risks are the same.
If someone were to go in and take the information that you are looking at, they may be able to access all sorts of funds. It may be possible for someone to wipe out all of your bank accounts or charge up incredible amounts on your credit cards – and this needs to be avoided at all costs.
–Your contacts could be swiped easily
Your contacts could be stolen while you are mobile. This can include client information as well as personal information for everyone who is on your device. If the wrong person gets ahold of this kind of information, it can lead to trust issues with everyone in your contact list because their privacy has been violated by a stranger.
Every contact that you have stored on your mobile device could be stolen or affected in one way or another if someone were able to tap into your device. The information could be stolen through duplication – and that means that you wouldn’t even know that someone took the contacts until all of your contacts began to complain.
–Your entire identity Is at risk!
If you are like most people, you have a significant amount of information on a mobile device – and you conduct a lot of business online with the device. It’s possible for someone to take your entire identity because of the information that you enter onto websites and even into emails.
This can include your social security number, date of birth, full name, driver’s license number and everything else. Thieves are very sophisticated and once they have one of these items, it’s only a matter of time before they are able to obtain everything else.
Identities are stolen all the time because of people insufficiently protecting themselves. Just as you are told not to carry your Social Security card on you in the event that your wallet is stolen, you should not enter it online unless you can ensure that you are on a secure connection with encryption taking place.
Your identification information in your present company can even be compromised if proper care is not taken to secure them. Some businesses invest in ID Card Systems that can guarantee better safety in the workplace.
–Your home address (may not seem like a big deal, but it is)
Your home address can also be taken. Any time you enter your address for shipping information or anything else, it can be taken by someone who wants it. While it may not seem like a big deal for someone to have your home address, it is if you are a public figure. It’s also a big deal if you have children in the home.
There have been stories where thieves have visited the home of a person they obtained an address from. Once they learn about you on the Internet to find out what kinds of things could be in your home, you may be a target – which means you want to keep your address private.
–Proprietary information
If you are conducting business on your mobile device, you don’t want anyone to tap into information that belongs to your business. This can include anything from recipes to trade secrets. If the information were to get into the wrong hands, you may not be able to recover because people could duplicate what you are known for – and this means that the edge is gone within the competitive world of your industry.
All sorts of information can be stolen when you’re mobile, so the best thing that you can do is take precautions. There are apps that can be installed to protect your mobile device. There are also sites that use encryption when requesting data from you – and these are the ones that should always be used.