Security & privacy for smartphones

We call them "phones" because we make telephone calls on them, but with email, web browsing, applications, and gigabytes of file storage, your smartphone is a small computer, and that makes it a potential security and privacy risk.

Smartphones are small and valuable, and thus are particularly vulnerable to theft and resale. Your smartphone is also an open window into your professional life and computing environment here at Yale, so avoiding potential phone theft is also critical to keeping Yale's data secure and confidential.

Some tips for smartphone security and privacy:

• Never leave your smartphone unattended, even for a few moments. If you decide not to carry your phone, lock it in a desk or in an office that can be locked.
• Never leave your smartphone in plain sight in your car. If you leave the phone in your car, make sure it is out of sight and that the car is locked.
• NEVER use your Yale NetID password as the password to your smartphone.
• At minimum, set up a unique phone password access for any sensitive or private files you might store on your smartphone. Consider using a short password for access to all functions of your smartphone.
• Never allow your smartphone to "remember" login passwords for access to email, VPN, or other systems.
• Regularly review and discard data on your smartphone that you will not be actively using for current work.
• Use public wireless networks cautiously. Identity thieves increasingly monitor these unsecured networks in airports or other public places, looking for credit card or personal information sent "in the clear" without VPN or SSL protection.
• If you use your smartphone for email messaging, be sure you choose a phone that supports SSL/TLS security and that has support for wireless VPN networking.

See the ITS resources below for more information on obtaining and using smartphones at Yale:

• Details on securing mobile devices like smartphones & PDAs
• Cellular & smartphone information
• Mobile technology support
• VPN support

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Related University Policies & Procedures

• 5123 Electronic Communication of Health Related Information
• 5123 PR.1 Procedure: Communication of of PHI via electronic messaging

Other resources

• Article: Smart Phones, Big Worries
• BusinessWeek: Public Wi-Fi: Be Very Paranoid