City launches new app to help residents protect against cyber-attacks: "Dallas Secure"
ARLINGTON — "Think before you click."
It's a timeless warning, but one that especially resonates during the distracted frenzy of holiday shopping.
"I feel pretty concerned," said Pamela Day while browsing the stores in Dallas' Bishop Arts area. "I mean, I see things every day."
Fellow shopper Gary Reynolds agreed. "I'm gonna say probably daily. Yeah. Either text or email or something."
The City of Dallas has launched a free online tool to help residents and guests avoid some of those online risks: it's called "Dallas Secure."
"So you go to the App Store, you download the app... and you put it on your phone," said Brian Gardner, Ph.D., City of Dallas Chief Information Security Officer. "It'll tell you if you are near a bad Wi-Fi spot or a risky Wi-Fi spot. It works to keep your mobile device secure."
Hackers know mobile devices are treasure troves of information, so the attempts to access that information won't likely stop.
"Either coming in through emails, it is coming in through SMS messages. It is coming through WhatsApp, it's coming through Facebook. It's coming through all kinds of social media," said Shridhar Mittal. "It's hitting you from every possibility."
Mittal is the CEO of Dallas-based Zimperium. The company, billed as a leader in mobile threat defense, worked with the city to create and launch the "Dallas Secure" app. He said as hackers and cyberthieves have become more savvy, the risks are becoming more difficult to detect.
"When you've got artificial intelligence being used by these cyber criminals to attack the people... humans can no longer fight against technology," said Mittal. "Technology has to fight against technology."
After downloading the free app, users can also set it up to automatically filter out phishing attempts that arrive in the form of text messages, moving them to a junk folder. The goal is to have the added protection work seamlessly in the background. Still, staying aware of threats—and the steps to ward against them—experts caution is everyone's concern.
"Ransomware can hit anybody, everywhere, any time. And including mobile," said Gardner. "They're very creative on how they work to get people's information and ultimately cost people a lot of money."
So what does he hope will be the impact on Dallas residents and those who work, shop or spend time in the city?
"That they're a little bit more cyber-savvy," said Gardner, "that they're able to protect themselves."
And guests and residents seem to agree.
"Ya!" said Day with a wide smile. "Way to go, Dallas!"
