The connection to your cell provider is encrypted (GSM providers at
least- it'll stop many attackers, but (as is usually the case) a
dedicated attacker could probably break it or more likely social
engineer their way in. It's really not that different than your cable or
DSL modem connection - do you trust your home internet provider? Treat
it roughly the same.
Keep in mind that the connection to your bank is almost certainly
encrypted via SSL so there's multiple layers that need to be broken
before you're at serious risk (network provider and SSL certificate
providers). It's not impossible but there's many easier ways to do it
instead of hacking your network connections.
Personally, I'll use a VPN provider if I want to be limit the visibility
of my network traffic from home or my cell, but otherwise I don't really
care. If I'm doing something like torrents that I want to hide from my
provider then yes it makes sense, but my daily traffic I don't care
about as it's generally encrypted and I practice safe internetting
(things like adblockers via uBlock Origin, being cautious about sites
sent via email, and not clicking on every link that Aunt J sends out).
Mobile devices as a whole are an interesting vector in the sense that
they're a more limited environment, which usually means the damage an
attacker can do is limited (they can't usually break from one app into
another). There's always going to be holes (Android's Stagefright
exploit is a recent example) but if your devices are kept up to date
then you'll be doing the best you can against most attackers. As usual,
a dedicated attacker that is out to get you will likely be able to do
some damage - I don't know of any way other then turning everything off
and staying 100% off the grid to avoid that. If you play at all in the
modern world then you're at least somewhat vulnerable - the big saving
grace to me is that most people aren't at risk as we're not targets that
matter.:
Jamie
On 2016-08-01 12:50 PM, Winterlight wrote:
I do have some apps on my phone that I use but I am really not a big
smart phone user. If I am mobile I would rather pull out my laptop.
And I am really not sure about phone security. My phones are updated
to the current OS, and I use an app called folder lock to protect what
matters but I never use a phone for online financial matters.
I pay for a private hotspot and VPN service for my laptop and use
virtual encrypted drives for data, but up to now I don't use VPN for
my phones. Should I? Is a connection to AT&T or T-Mobile an encrypted
connection like a VPN would be? Am I overly paranoid about using my
phone data connection for banking / credit card matters? Please
enlighten me. Thanks
w
--
Jamie Furtner [email protected]
