Mobile Device Security
The increased portability of data provided by smartphones, tablets, laptops, USB drives, external hard drives, and cloud file storage options includes an increased risk of data vulnerability. By examining your device usage and creating a secure data plan, you can:
- Prevent the theft of your personal information.
- Comply with non-disclosure agreements, access restrictions, and state and federal privacy regulations.
- Keep the personal data of work-related files out of the wrong hands in the case of loss or theft.
- Protect yourself and the University from liability regarding regulations that cover certain types of research data.
Getting Started
Security vulnerabilities exist at both the operating system level and over wireless connections. Just about every type of mobile technology has been found, at one time or another, to have a security vulnerability. Although there are some inherent risks in mobile computing, there are definitely things you can do to help prevent these types of vulnerabilities.
Best Practices
You can mitigate your level of risk by keeping the following mobile device best practices in mind:
- Faculty and staff should contact their local support organization to install mobile security software. For laptops, this includes anti-virus and full disk encryption. Mobile phones should have tracking or remote wipe applications installed.
- Securely erase all data before selling or recycling your phone, tablet, or laptop. Simply deleting the data is often not enough because it only moves the information to a part of the computer that you do not see. You and others can still access it, leaving sensitive records and personal data at risk. Securely deleting ensures that no one can access your information. See Secure Destruction for more information.
- Do not leave your mobile devices unattended, even for a moment. Secure your laptop with cable locks and participate in Tufts Public Safety’s Operation Identification program, which engraves your property with your information, making it much harder for thieves to sell.
- Do not open or follow links in SMS/MMS or emails if you do not recognize the sender or if the message is questionable. Do not trust automated phone calls to accurately represent who they claim to be. Check, in advance, to see if your bank contact information is on the back of your credit card in case you ever need to call them directly.
- Check the source before you download all files and applications to make sure they’re safe. For example, if you see a URL like www.goog.le.com and not www.google.com, it’s probably safer to leave the site.
- Do not download or accept programs/content from unknown or untrusted sources.
- Do not send email to non-Tufts email addresses with sensitive information attached in documents or as written text in the email body. When off-campus, use the Tufts VPN to transfer files to and from secure network folders.
- Be cautious when using public Wi-Fi; use the Tufts VPN, HTTPS communication, or your device's Wi-Fi service provider whenever possible. If the service you want doesn't support HTTPS, avoid accessing it on public Wi-Fi.