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Cybercriminals can infect and gain access to our devices (especially cell phones and tablets), whether professional or personal, by means of fake applications that we may have downloaded or malicious programs that have been installed by clicking on a fraudulent link.
In this way they can use them at will, without our knowledge or consent, and even launch cyberattacks from them.
The harm to us, therefore, is not only that our information contained in the device or in applications (e.g., banking app, Whatsapp, email, social networks and others) is misused, but that we are used to commit a crime and that, in case of police investigation, our device is implicated as the means through which it was committed.
How can we detect this intrusion?
- The battery drains quickly, despite hours of charging.
- The device overheats, without having been exposed to high temperatures.
- We have a new program or application installed, which we have not consciously downloaded.
- We receive unusual notifications from our programs and applications.
- We detect changes in our location when using mapping or GPS programs or apps.
- We lose processing capacity, which makes the system run very slowly.
- There is a noticeable increase in data consumption statistics, which can even be detrimental to our bills if we exceed the contracted rate (check in “Settings – Mobile data” or on the computer in “Settings – Network and Internet – Data usage”).
- If everything fits, we must inform the IT Department as soon as possible, at the labor level, and the Police, at the individual level.