French Cybersecurity Agency Urges Regular Phoneโ Restarts to โthwart Emerging Threats
Paris, France โข – โFrance’s National Agency for the Security of Facts Systemsโฃ (ANSSI) โis advising citizens to routinelyโ power off and on their smartphones as a critical defense against increasingly โrefined cyberattacks, including those leveraging fraudulent โฃWi-Fi hotspots and pre-installed applications. The proposal, detailed in a recent report, underscores a growing concernโ over mobile device security and the ease with which attackers can compromise personal data.
The ANSSI report highlights โขthe rising threat of “fake Wi-Fi hotspots” used โคin social โฃengineering attacks to trick users into connectingโข to malicious networks. These networks can be โusedโค to collect identifiers,redirect users to โขphishing pages,or inject malicious code,possibly compromising the phone. โA malicious actor, according โฃto ANSSI, “can position themselves between the user and the Wi-Fi hotspot โฃto โintercept, modify, and retrieve sensitive information.”
To mitigate this risk, the agency strongly recommends “completely disable” the Wi-Fi interface when not inโค use,โข noting that simply โคdisconnecting from a network via the control center doesn’t fullyโ deactivate the interface on iOS devices. Beyond Wi-Fi, ANSSI also advises disabling Bluetooth when not in use and even deactivating pre-installedโข messaging apps if they aren’t actively used, as these represent a “privileged initial โvector for attackers.”
The report further stresses the importance of โapplying system updatesโค as โsoon as they become available and avoiding public Wi-Fi networks whenever possible. When public Wi-Fi โis essential, the agency recommends utilizing a โVirtual private Network (VPN) to โencryptโข data โtransmission.
Individuals who receiveโ threat notifications – via email, SMS, or from security solution providers – regarding โpotential account or device compromises โขare urged not toโ handle their phone and toโ immediately contactโค CERT-FR, the โFrench national computer emergency response team, at [email protected] or โby phone at 3218 (free service โข+ price โof a call) or +33 (0) 9 70 83 32 18.
