Watch out!! – here are 7 common attack methods directed to your smartphone!

CSOonline.com reported that “The smartphone revolution was supposed to provide a second chance for the tech industry to roll out a secure computing platform. These new devices were purported to be locked down and immune to malware, unlike buggy PCs and vulnerable servers.”  The May 15, 2025 article entitled " How phones get hacked: 7 common attack methods explained” (https://www.csoonline.com/article/509643/how-to-hack-a-phone.html) included these comments about #4 Smishing:

Another vector attackers use to get tappable links in front of their victims is SMS text messaging, with a practice known as SMS phishing or smishing.

“There are multiple ways cybercriminals can use SMS phishing, depending on their intention and goal,” says Rasmus Holst, CRO of Wire. “If the objective is to install malware onto a device, then a file is usually attached, accompanied by a message that tries to persuade the user to click and download it. For example, cybercriminals can impersonate someone trusted, such as an employer or manager asking an employee to review the attached document, laying a trap for a busy and unsuspecting victim.”

Smishing is a tried-and-true hacker technique, but today, says Polyguard’s McKenty, “the challenge is to make links ‘clickable.’ Over the past few months, we’ve seen exploits of a number of vulnerabilities in Apple’s SMS link defenses. This includes funneling malicious links through trusted domains like Google (using the AMP and Google Sites vulnerabilities), taking advantage of exceptions for ‘basic auth-protected’ URLs by using empty credentials in the rarely used user:pass@host format, and even an apparent parsing vulnerability around empty subdomains.”

Here are all 7 common attack methods:

1.      Zero-click spyware

2.      Social engineering

3.      Malvertising

4.      Smishing

5.      Fake apps

6.      Pretexting

7.      Physical access

So what are doing to protect your smartphone?