The National Security Agency (NSA) has issued a few methods to thwart cyberattacks and dissuade attackers. In one of the tips, the NSA has asked smartphone users to reboot their devices periodically.
The NSA wants smartphone users to reboot their devices at least once a week
With the rapidly growing use of smartphones, attackers and malware creators are getting creative. These persistent attackers and hackers routinely find innovative techniques to compromise the security of smartphones.
In a Mobile Device Best Practices report, the National Security Agency (NSA), has reportedly suggested several methods and tips to prevent attacks on smartphones. One of the simplest methods NSA recommended is rebooting phones regularly.
The security recommendations issued by the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency aren’t exactly new. The NSA published the mobile device best practices guide in 2020, and it has been updating it regularly.
Most smartphones in circulation today either run Apple’s iOS or Google’s Android. Both Operating Systems offer a lot of functions and features. Notably, smartphones allow users to perform banking operations and transactions using tech embedded in these devices.
NSA has claimed that “many of the features provide convenience and capability but sacrifice security”. Interestingly, one of the simplest steps to periodically boost the security of phones is to reboot them.
Why should smartphone users restart their devices?
The reasoning behind rebooting smartphones is to limit threats from non-persistent malware. In other words, rebooting a device could eliminate or limit the efficacy of threats that stay in RAM.
Many hacks and malware often reside in the volatile memory of devices. Specifically speaking, these attacks cannot or do not write themselves to permanent memory.
Smartphone operating systems such as iOS and Android have several safeguards to lock out suspicious software from making changes to the internal storage. However, some malware can stay in the RAM to execute its malicious payload.
Keeping malware in volatile memory, rather than writing it to permanent storage, is a sophisticated technique to try and evade detection. It also minimizes digital footprints. Actions such as writing to internal memory can also fail due to OS safeguards. They can trigger alarms or invoke remedial action by the smartphone OS.
Rebooting a device can often result in snappier performance. This is because restarting a device clears the device’s RAM of residual data. Similarly, rebooting a device regularly could help get rid of malware, the NSA has suggested.
