Over the past decade, technology enthusiasts have dreamed about smartphones and tablets taking over various aspects of our lives. They have in many ways, but the shift has always been gradual. This all changed in 2020 when most of us were forced to stay home. From the way we work, go to school, interact with our healthcare providers, manage our finances, shop, and connect with friends and families – mobile is now at the center of our lives.

The Lookout Threat Intelligence team has discovered a new mobile app threat targeting iOS and Android users in Chinese speaking countries, Korea and Japan. The spyware, which we have named Goontact, targets users of illicit sites, typically offering escort services, and steals personal information from their mobile device. The types of sites used to distribute these malicious apps and the information exfiltrated suggests that the ultimate goal is extortion or blackmail.

As businesses try to create a contactless experience amid the coronavirus pandemic, many have turned to QR codes. We’re seeing a lot of restaurants using them to display their menus on smartphones and on receipts for a contactless pay option. Within popular apps like Snapchat and WhatsApp, QR codes are an integral part of the user experience. Users can use codes to sign into their account, exchange contact information and make money transfer.

2020 has been a challenging year. Organizations had to quickly figure out how to secure employees and mobile endpoints working outside their existing perimeter-based controls. To take a step back, 2020 isn’t an anomaly. This shift to mobile-first was happening well before the pandemic.

It goes without saying that mobility has become the key to productivity for any modern business. This is especially true for the highly competitive pharmaceutical industry. To be the first to bring a ground-breaking treatment or vaccine to market, pharmaceutical organizations need their employees to stay productive whether they’re working on your organization’s premises or not.

A Government Business Council report from September of this year found 63% of federal employees are fully remote, with many expecting to remain that way for at least the next six months. In this new reality, mobile devices have become a critical lifeline. But the mobile phones and tablets that keep us efficient and effective also open our organizations up to new risks against which existing security does not defend.

Our mission has always been to secure the mobile experience and for many in our current climate, that means protecting employees as they work from home. Verizon recently announced the launch of Business Mobile Secure, a full security solution designed specifically for small and medium business customers with Lookout mobile security at the helm of the bundle’s modern endpoint protection offerings.

We just recently unveiled the industry’s first mobile endpoint detection and response (EDR) solution. This is an industry game changer as we are providing the same tools the Lookout security researchers use to hunt for novel threats to our customers to investigate cyberattacks. If you want to learn more about how we did it, I strongly encourage you to read our Chief Strategy Officer Aaron Cockerill’s blog on the announcement.

Productivity suites have changed the way we work With the advent of cloud productivity platforms, tablets and smartphones have become an integral part of our work and personal lives. At any time, we are one tap away from accessing the same content as our desktop computers. In some ways, mobile devices have replaced those traditional devices as our main productivity tool. To borrow a line from a current ad campaign for tablets – “your next computer is not a computer.”

If you bring up the topic of “shadow IT” to your head of IT, you will likely get a lecture about how employees need to follow protocol when using cloud cloud services so they don’t put the organization at risk. They’re not wrong. Without proper protection, unsanctioned tools can have significant consequences and unintentionally introduce security gaps.