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Zuma, other leaders easy target for hackers in Davos

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President Jacob Zuma. (Themba Hadebe, AP, file)
President Jacob Zuma. (Themba Hadebe, AP, file)

Cape Town – As world leaders gather in Davos for the World Economic Forum, they should ensure that their mobile phones are secure as cyber criminals stalk them, says a security company.

President Jacob Zuma is among a top level South African delegation to the global economic forum.

But security company Kaspersky Lab said crooks and spies have developed new techniques to infiltrate mobile devices, putting world leaders at risk.

“Significant events, like the World Economic Forum, serve as a hub for important conversations and attract high-profile visitors from all over the world. But a high concentration of important people in one place also attracts malicious cyber-attackers, who consider public events a good opportunity to gather intelligence with the help of targeted malware,” Kaspersky Lab said in a statement.

Zuma made headlines recently when he chose to continue chatting on his mobile phone while shaking hands with US President Barack Obama at a luncheon hosted by UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon.

The US president is well known for using a customised BlackBerry for security reasons, but Kaspersky said that malware could unintentionally be introduced even on highly secure devices.

Weak passwords

READ: How to check your password strength

“Once mobile malware is installed on the target’s device it can spy on all secure messages and also secretly and invisibly activate the device’s camera and microphone. This allows the threat actors to gain access to the most sensitive conversations taking place, even those which take place off-the-record and face-to-face,” said Dmitry Bestuzhev, security expert at Global Research and Analysis Team at Kaspersky Lab.

Research from SpashData out on Tuesday revealed that despite the internet threat landscape, the most common password is still “123456” – unchanged from 2011.

Data from security firm Check Point found that cyber crooks sharply increased the number of attacks on African countries.

“We’re seeing an ongoing trend of cyber criminals exploiting weaker security controls in less developed African nations to target their more advanced counterparts,” said Doros Hadjizenonos, country manager of Check Point South Africa.

Bestuzhev has eight tips for top politicians, like President Zuma, to keep his data secure from cyber spies in Davos:

1. Virtual private network

“Always use a VPN connection to connect to the internet. This helps to ensure that your network traffic cannot easily be intercepted and reduces its susceptibility to malware that can be been injected directly into a legitimate application being downloaded from the internet.”

2. USB charging

“Do not charge your mobile devices using a USB port connected to a computer, as it could be infected with special malware installed on the PC. The best thing you can do is to plug your phone directly into the AC power adapter.”

3. Anti-malware software

“Use a mobile anti-malware program. It has to be the best one. It seems that the future of these solutions lies precisely in the same technologies already implemented for desktop security: Default Deny and Whitelisting.”

4. Password protection

“Protect your devices with a password, not a PIN. If the PIN is found, the cyber-attackers may gain physical access to your mobile device and install the malware implant without your knowledge.”

5. Encryption

“Use encryption in the data storage memories that come with your mobile devices. This advice is especially topical for devices that allow for the extraction of memory disks. If attackers can extract your memory by connecting it to another device, they'll be able to easily manipulate your operating system and your data in general.”

6. Jailbreaking

“Do not jailbreak your device, especially if you're not sure how it will impact your device.”

7. Used phones

“Don't use second-hand cellphones that may come with pre-installed malware. This advice is especially important if your cellphone comes from someone you don’t know well.”

8. Face to face

“Finally, bear in mind that, conventional conversations in a natural environment are always safer than those carried out electronically.”


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