Verizon Mobile Security Index 2021

Cybersecurity is not a new issue, but the stakes are getting higher. The scale of regulatory penalties is growing, and customers—consumers, businesses and public-sector organizations alike—are becoming more sensitive to the issue. In the past, many consumers saw little difference between the security postures of the companies—such as banks and retailers—pursuing their business, and so it didn’t sway their loyalty. That’s changing, and consequently lots of companies are responding by making security and data privacy central to their value proposition.

For more than a decade, Verizon has published some of the preeminent reports on cybersecurity, including the Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR). This is the fourth edition of the Mobile Security Index. As the name suggests, it focuses on the threats to mobile devices; what defenses companies have in place to thwart these attacks; and how often those fail, leading to a mobile-related compromise.

One of the key themes of the 2020 Mobile Security Index was mal-innovation. We talked about how cybercriminals were constantly finding new and often imaginative ways to carry out attacks. In another life, where their motives weren’t nefarious and the outcomes not so damaging to so many, the creativity and ingenuity shown by some of the attackers would merit fame and accolades.

Sadly, mal-innovation continues apace, and we saw many new examples in 2020. COVID-19—you didn’t think that we’d not mention it, did you?—provided cybercriminals with new opportunities. Criminals were able to craft tailored phishing attacks very quickly. But that’s no longer a surprise. It doesn’t take a pandemic for phishing gangs to identify new ways to exploit human weaknesses to further their attacks.

Another of the key themes of our 2020 report was how mobile devices are not just being used more, but used for more. In large part driven by apps and data in the cloud, mobile devices have evolved from being a handy companion into an essential business tool. Today, you can buy a watch that has much of the functionality smartphones had just a couple of years ago. Smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices can now be used to access core systems, edit spreadsheets and perform other mission-critical tasks.

Download report to learn more.