Most people I know who have a mobile phone can barely part with it for an hour. Losing that phone or having it stolen has major security and lost productivity consequences.
Here are some prevention tips and what to do if your phone does get into the wrong hands. If you own a business and your staff use their devices to access or share company data, I recommend some of these best practices become mandatory policy.
1) Password- or PIN-protect your phone. When enabled, someone who picks up your mobile device has to type in the correct password or PIN to use it. Make sure you set the limit of password attempts to a fairly low number (most phones don’t allow more than 10 times). Finally ensure the “security time out” or “inactivity time out” limits are set to fairly short times so that if the mobile device is left idle for five minutes or less, the screen is automatically locked. Don’t forget to choose a password of least six characters with a mix of symbols, letters, numbers to make it more difficult and time consuming for a thief to hack in.
For more on iPhone:support.apple.com/kb/HT4113
Android: depends on the manufacturer. In the case of a Samsung Galaxy S4, go to Settings/My Device/Lock Screen.
BlackBerry: docs.blackberry.com/en/smartphone_users/deliverables/47561/als1334342592773.jsp
2) Know your IMEI number. The International Mobile Equipment Identity is a unique number that identifies your mobile device. If a mobile device is stolen, most carriers in Canada can blacklist the IMEI so a thief can’t use the device even if the SIM card is replaced.
The Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association and Canada’s wireless carriers announced in the fall of 2012 a plan to assist law-enforcement agencies in fighting theft of wireless devices. By September 30, 2013, the authorization of any GSM or LTE wireless device on any Canadian network will include verification that the device’s IMEI number has not been reported lost or stolen on any Canadian network.
To find your IMEI number, go to the dial screen of your device and type *#06# and it will be displayed. Alternatively, open up your phone, take the battery out and you will see the IMEI code listed on your phone.
3) Setup a SIM lock or pin. Locking your SIM card helps reduce voice and data use by thieves. You will be prompted to enter the PIN every time you power on your phone.
4) Encrypt if you have sensitive data. If you have highly sensitive company data on your phone, your IT department might require you to enable encryption. Encryption stores your phone’s data in an unreadable form requiring the user to enter the encryption PIN or password (in some devices, it is the same as your phone’s lock-screen PIN/password) to decrypt the data to make it readable. Note, however, that once you encrypt your phone, you can’t disable this without doing a factory reset.
5) Back up your data frequently. If you haven’t backed up your data, anything stored (images, files, communications) will be lost and could be compromised in the wrong hands. If your data is backed up, you can get your carrier or use an app to remotely wipe out the data on your phone if you know it has been stolen.
iPhone backup to iCloud: support.apple.com/kb/PH12519?viewlocale=en_US
Android backup: depends on the manufacturer. In the case of a Samsung Galaxy S4, go to Settings/Accounts/Backup Options/Cloud, and you can select the provider that you want to use to back up Contacts/Calendar/SMS/MMS/Images/Video; Samsung offers 50 gigabytes at Dropbox for two years. You can back up your Android contents to Google servers and restore it on another phone. Everything is tied to your gmail account.
BlackBerry users can back up using the desktop software.
6) If your phone is lost or stolen, contact your service provider immediately. You are typically responsible for any charges (calls or data) made on your phone between the time that it is lost or stolen until you get the provider to disconnect it. Ask for recommendations on next steps to trace your device, and to remotely lock or wipe it.
7) Let your company IT department know to change passwords. If you store passwords on your phone or have any sensitive company data, make sure you change all your passwords immediately. Make sure your IT department is aware as well so that company passwords are updated.
8) Use the Find Your Phone app. Many smartphones have a feature to view the location of your device on a map, make it ring (even on silent) or display a custom message on your locked device to provide instructions about how to contact you. If your device is stolen, you can remotely lock it, change the password or delete all of the data from your device.
iCloud “Find my iPhone” can be used for iPod, iPhone or iPad. itunes.apple.com/us/app/find-my-iPhone/id376101648
Android: there are many apps but Lookout www.lookout.com (also available for iPhone) is very popular. It has great security features such as virus scan, backup of contacts and the most important “missing device” system. The “scream” feature sounds a loud alarm even if the phone is on silent – great if you lose the phone at home and had it on silent – “locate” tells you where the phone is if it’s on, “signal flare” saves the location where it is before the battery dies and “lock cam” takes a picture of the thief trying to access the phone and the GPS location after three failed attempts to unlock the phone. Remote lock and remove wipe features are available in the paid version.
Blackberry: “BlackBerry Protect” is in your device settings. Visit protect.blackberry.com and follow the instructions. •
