You are probably reading this article on a mobile device, since mobile technology has become such an integral part of today’s digital society. Unfortunately, cybercriminals are determined to spoil the fun with their continuous attacks.

Obviously, you can’t stop using your mobile devices due to fear of suffering a cyberattack. But you can secure your devices with mobile threat defense. So, what exactly is mobile threat defense? How does it work and what are its benefits?

What Is Mobile Threat Defense?

Mobile threat defense (MTD) is a series of processes and strategies that you can use to secure your iOS and Android mobile devices from cyber threats and attacks. The prevalence of cyberattacks creates a need for MTD, especially as more people browse on their mobile devices than on desktops or laptops.

Organizations aren’t the only targets of cyberattacks; individuals like you are targets too. If you don’t take proactive security measures to secure your mobile devices, attackers could compromise them for their selfish gains.

To get the most out of your mobile threat defense, you need to combine it with other mobile-focused security systems such as mobile device management (MDM).

How Does Mobile Threat Defense Work?

Man Pressing a Mobile Phone

Mobile threat defense isn’t just about the mobile device. It also secures other components you connect to your devices including network traffic and applications. Here are some of the defensive tasks to undertake as part of MTD.

Examine Device for Loopholes

To secure your mobile device, MTD examines the device’s elements such as operating system (OS) versions, configurations and firmware to check for loopholes that expose them to threats. It also mitigates risks that could arise from any mistakes or accidents on your part as you operate your mobile devices.

Outdated features in operating systems can expose your device to cyber threats and attacks. MTD notifies you about the outdated features in your devices so you can implement updates for better security.

Scan Network Against Malicious Traffic

Cybercriminals don’t access systems in person; they do so through network traffic. A mobile device's network traffic can be a threat vector, especially when attackers compromise it. MTD monitors and scans traffic to mobile devices against malicious vectors.

Attackers often deploy Man-in-the-Middle attacks and use phishing attempts to compromise network traffic. Since these attacks aren’t visible to the ordinary eye, you could fall for them. MTD detects malicious traffic signals and blocks them from accessing your device.

Verify Applications for Safe Use

The applications you install on your mobile devices can facilitate cyberattacks, especially with the use of malware. Mobile threat defense evaluates each application to ensure that they are clean and safe to use. When you install a new application, it undergoes a background check for any possible harm to your system.

Mobile device attack vectors can bypass default security settings in your mobile devices and keep your system running normally while they are carrying out their mission in the background. But with MTD, you'll identify such an anomaly.

Detect Unusual Activities With Machine Learning

The most effective MTD technologies can detect external elements within your system and detect unusual operational behaviors. In other words, they can tell when something is off. This sixth sense for detecting threats is a result of advanced machine learning and threat intelligence data analysis.

Identify Suspicious Activities With Real-Time Monitoring

To detect anomalies within a mobile device, MTD pays close attention to all tools and networks connected to the device. It works according to outlined parameters to differentiate suspicious activities from non-suspicious activities in real-time.

Determine Network Condition With Risk Assessment

An effective MTD performs a routine risk assessment to determine the security condition of your mobile devices. It checks your system's endpoints for threat indicators. By doing so, it identifies items that may not seem harmful now but have the potential to cause harm soon.

What Are the Benefits of Mobile Threat Defense?

Woman Using a Tablet Outside

Android and iOS devices enhance the general conditions of our lives. The world is now a global village. Mobile threat defense helps secure these operating systems as we engage with each other from our various locations around the world.

Some of the ways MTD helps us include:

1. Visibility for Tracking Performance

A lack of visibility of attack vectors is responsible for a majority of cyberattacks. What better way to protect your network than seeing all activities, especially the malicious ones? Even if attackers beat the security you have at your mobile endpoints, MTD systems will alert you of their presence so you can manage whatever impact their presence can have on your system.

It's also possible for cybercriminals to infect your system with malware through encrypted network traffic. Ordinarily, you wouldn’t be aware of this tactic. But with comprehensive network visibility, you can get a notification.

2. Adherence to Regulatory Compliance

Since a vast majority of applications are now compatible with mobile devices, you can save all kinds of data on your mobile devices. However, you must maintain data privacy regulations, especially if you have other people's data.

An effective mobile threat defense system has in-built parameters to guide you along the regulatory lines regarding data management on your mobile tools. This is very important as non-compliance can lead to sensitive data exposure, breach and loss.

3. Implementation of Zero Trust Security

Sometimes, cyberattacks come from the most unsuspecting places and people. As a result of this, there’s a need for you to scrutinize all access to your mobile devices, regardless of where they are coming from.

Mobile threat defense offers a zero-trust security framework with measures such as authentication and authorization to verify users’ identities before granting them access. If your mobile device gets into the wrong hands, you still have some degree of security as they would have to undergo security checks like multi-factor authentication before logging in.

4. Flexibility for Seamless Deployment

Due to the fear of data exposure and breach, people use specific devices for their work. They are afraid that entering their confidential information into other systems could compromise them. The restriction to specific devices hinders their productivity and efficiency as they can’t function in the absence of those devices.

Mobile threat defense allows you to work from anywhere on your mobile devices without compromising your work quality. This has become a necessity as more people embrace remote work today. Accessing your work resources remotely will make you more productive and efficient in the long run.

Maximizing Mobile Technology Usage With MTD

For many people, their mobile devices have become an inseparable part of their lives. It’s almost impossible to imagine what life would be like without those tools. While we leverage mobile technology to enhance our lives, we must be aware of cybercriminals who are looking for the slightest opportunity to attack our devices.

Mobile threat defense allows you to carry out all sorts of activities on your mobile devices securely. You get to focus on what you are doing and make the most of it without being afraid of a security breach.