Smartphone

French Cybersecurity Agency Urges Regular Phone‍ Restarts to ​thwart Emerging Threats

Paris, France ⁢ – ‌France’s National Agency for the Security of Facts Systems⁣ (ANSSI) ‌is advising citizens to routinely​ power off and on their smartphones as a critical defense against increasingly ‌refined cyberattacks, including those leveraging fraudulent ⁣Wi-Fi hotspots and pre-installed applications. The proposal, detailed in a recent report, underscores a growing concern‍ over mobile device security and the ease with which attackers can compromise personal data.

The ANSSI report highlights ⁢the rising threat of “fake Wi-Fi hotspots” used ⁤in social ⁣engineering attacks to trick users into connecting⁢ to malicious networks. These networks can be ​used⁤ to collect identifiers,redirect users to ⁢phishing pages,or inject malicious code,possibly compromising the phone. ‍A malicious actor, according ⁣to ANSSI, “can position themselves between the user and the Wi-Fi hotspot ⁣to ‌intercept, modify, and retrieve sensitive information.”

To mitigate this risk, the agency strongly recommends “completely disable” the Wi-Fi interface when not in⁤ use,⁢ noting that simply ⁤disconnecting from a network via the control center doesn’t fully‍ deactivate the interface on iOS devices. Beyond Wi-Fi, ANSSI also advises disabling Bluetooth when not in use and even deactivating pre-installed⁢ messaging apps if they aren’t actively used, as these represent a “privileged initial ‌vector for attackers.”

The report further stresses the importance of ​applying system updates⁤ as ‌soon as they become available and avoiding public Wi-Fi networks whenever possible. When public Wi-Fi ‍is essential, the agency recommends utilizing a ‍Virtual private Network (VPN) to ‍encrypt⁢ data ​transmission.

Individuals who receive‌ threat notifications – via email, SMS, or from security solution providers – regarding ‍potential account or device compromises ⁢are urged not to​ handle their phone and to​ immediately contact⁤ CERT-FR, the ‍French national computer emergency response team, at [email protected] or ‌by phone at 3218 (free service ⁢+ price ‍of a call) or +33 (0) 9 70 83 32 18.