Mobile Security Catching Up? Revealing the Nuts and Bolts of the Security of Mobile Devices

TLDR

The shift from an internet‑centric to a mobile‑centric society, driven by rapid growth in OS‑based phones, has made mobile security a critical concern. This survey aims to give a concise overview of mobile network security, covering backend, browser, hardware, and user‑enabled attack vectors. The authors review existing literature on mobile security, categorizing attack vectors across backend, browser, hardware, and user layers. The survey identifies key differences and similarities between traditional and mobile security, highlighting research gaps for future work.

Abstract

We are currently moving from the Internet society to a mobile society where more and more access to information is done by previously dumb phones. For example, the number of mobile phones using a full blown OS has risen to nearly200% from Q3/2009 to Q3/2010. As a result, mobile security is no longer immanent, but imperative. This survey paper provides a concise overview of mobile network security, attack vectors using the back end system and the web browser, but also the hardware layer and the user as attack enabler. We show differences and similarities between "normal" security and mobile security, and draw conclusions for further research opportunities in this area.