Mobile devices were designed in such a way that it is invincible by nature, but networking is a big part of the mobile device. Meaning, that this opens the mobile device up to the open world network. And attackers know this and can exploit that openness. Let’s start with the first point.
Device’s security settings
Your device’s natural tendency is to connect to any open network, and this is what most attackers use so well. The first approach to this risk is to configure your device in a way so that it does not connect to any open network out there. This not only includes Wi-Fi but also Bluetooth devices.
You can easily manually configure these settings on your device. If you need to configure them on a large scale corporate devices or multiple devices, better to lean on MDM (Mobile Device Management) software out there. A similar management app out there is the Apple Configurator.
User training
The harsh truth is, that no amount of configuration, manually or automatically, in any medium, won’t do any good if the user is not aware of the risk and keep connecting to an open network, or in worst cases, agrees on pairing with requests without being aware of the consequences. With these, if the user comes to the corporate network, the attacker in the bush comes out right away and spreads its wing in the corporate network.
Does not sound so good, yeah? What happens then? The user faces a lawsuit, the company faces massive losses and viruses. The best thing to do is to train the user to beware of certain behaviour or to immediately consult the tech management if their devices act up or seem anything unnatural.
Wi-Fi analyser
A Wi-Fi analyzer is used for typical networking tasks like the kind of channel the network should use, optimization of WAP placement, finding any dead spots, and so on. Besides these typical tasks, you can use them to do some additional tasks like mapping out the nearby networks. Most of the time, these networks are genuine and used in neighbouring houses or offices, but there is a chance anybody can set up a WAP for some malignant purposes.
Cell tower analyzer
Just like the Wi-Fi analyzer you just learned above, there is also a cell tower analyzer. A cell tower analyzer helps you detect the nearby cellular signals, estimate their distance and direction, measure their signal strength, and also able to gather some more information like the kind of technologies they are using, network names, and so on.
On a basic level usage, this analyzer can be used to measure the signal quality if a user is having a hard time connecting, or to put access control in the building. There could be a chance that an illegal tower is somewhere operating nearby and your organization could be a target.