The current state of Internet security

Can not we really do without 100 apps on our smartphone? Life used to be simpler.

With increased mobility, security on the Web is now everyone’s concern. As to knowing if things are any better, if we are more protected than before or if there are fewer viruses around and less hacking taking place, there is no clear cut answer, though in a general manner it will be a no, things are not really getting better.

Former president of Mozilla Europe, Tristan Nitot, put it bluntly, but rightly: “To use the Internet is to [implicitly] accept a certain form of surveillance.” We are unequivocally warned.

Smartphones and tablets are the new Achilles’ heel of the global network. The consumer tends to think that these devices do not really require the installation of antivirus software, that the operating system, be it Android or other, is well protected. The truth is that these systems are vulnerable as other platforms, such as Windows for example. They can even be more exposed to threats, given the large number of apps that we, in general, install on these portable devices, and that understandably increase the risk.

Installing a good antivirus on mobile computing equipment is not a luxury or a redundant precaution, but a necessity. Bitdefender, Kaspersky, Avira and the like provide inexpensive and good protection, often for as little as JD8 per year. In fact the term antivirus is not accurate for the best products are labelled as Internet Security and protect against various types of threats such as viruses, malware, downright machine intrusion and so forth. Antivirus is only part of the story.

Apps on mobile devices are treacherous. You have to know that whenever you install one you allow it to perform a large set of actions on your device and to have access to information stored on it and that — in principle — is not directly linked to the app’s primary function or usage. An example: the Uber taxi app asks to have access to your SMS messages! Incredible, but true. And yet, I do use it myself, I must confess. Although there is a warning from the app maker when you first install it, we all tend to accept the conditions without even reading the warning. And anyway, not accepting the conditions often means aborting the installation.

To reduce the risk there is the usual list of advice and recommendations such as not browsing suspicious websites, not opening unverified e-mails or attachments, not clicking commands or links that people send you without taking extra precaution and verifying the link, etc. There is a new one and it simply consists of installing as few apps as possible on your tablet or smartphone. The larger the number and the higher the risk.

Acknowledging the level of risk and the fact that it is spreading alarmingly, and willing to address it in the best possible way, authorities in Jordan have set a special unit within the General Security Department and that can help those who have been victims of an attack to track the perpetrator and sometime even obtain compensation. It may not be a foolproof remedy but it has already given tangible results in many cases, according to citizens’ stories. The unit has the capability to track the origin of the attack outside the country’s borders, in cooperation with similar units abroad.

The special department is called Cybercrime Control Unit, as translated from the Arabic name “Wahdat Mukaafahat Al Jaraa’em Al Elektroniyah”. It is part of the larger Criminal Investigation Department. They encourage anyone who may have been the victim of a cyber-attack to report it.