Lookout Inc., a leader in mobile security, released
its Government Threat Report, which examines the
most prominent mobile threats affecting federal, state and local governments in
the United States. Lookout data reveals that U.S. government organizations are
increasingly targeted by credential stealing mobile attacks and exposed to
hundreds of vulnerabilities from outdated operating systems and risky apps.
Key findings include:
- 99 percent of U.S.
government Android users are exposed to hundreds of vulnerabilities due to
outdated operating systems.
- App threats surged by
nearly 20 times across all levels of government as the cybersecurity
community recategorized the risks surrounding embedded adware.
- 1 in 15 government
employees were exposed to phishing threats. With over two million federal
government employees alone, this represents a significant potential attack
surface because it only takes one successful phishing attempt to
compromise an entire agency.
- Over 70 percent of
phishing attacks against government organizations sought to steal login
credentials, which is a 67 percent increase from 2019.
- Nearly one quarter of
state and local government employees use personal unmanaged devices,
outpacing the nearly 9 percent in the federal government.
Mobile devices provide the same
access to sensitive data as desktop and laptop computers, but very often they
do not have endpoint security installed. Comprehensive mobile security is
critical to defend these devices from cyberattacks and must be part of all
government cybersecurity strategies. Mobile endpoint security should be paired
with education and awareness training for employees.
"In the telework era, mobile devices are a primary tool for
productivity, but U.S. adversaries recognize our reliance on these devices and
exploit their vulnerabilities," said Bob Stevens, VP of Americas at Lookout.
"When mobile devices are compromised, they enable bad actors to enter the room
and access confidential conversations and sensitive government data. An app-,
network-and device-based approach to mobile security is imperative for all
government agencies and departments."
The findings are sourced from the Lookout Security Graph,
which contains behavioral analysis of telemetry data from nearly 200 million
mobile devices, 135 million apps and continuously analyzes over four million
URLs every day.
To learn about mobile threats affecting your organization,
download the U.S. Government Threat Report today.