Mobile Device Security: Threat Analysis and Countermeasure Development in Modern Computing Environments
Mobile devices have become central to personal, financial, and organisational operations, yet their security infrastructure frequently fails to match the pace of threat evolution, particularly in developing digital economies. This study analyzed mobile device security threats, examined vulnerabilities, evaluated existing countermeasures, and developed a layered protection framework. A mixed-method design combined qualitative analysis of 42 peer-reviewed sources (2020–2025) with simulated technical assessment across five mobile device configurations over a 12-week period using Nessus, Wireshark, and OWASP ZAP. Malware accounted for 28% of 1,247 recorded incidents, followed by phishing (22%) and unauthorized access (17%). Outdated operating systems constituted the most prevalent vulnerability (26%). Biometric authentication led adoption at 68%, yet multi-factor authentication and encryption remained under-adopted despite high effectiveness ratings. A five-layer security framework integrating prevention, detection, response, recovery, and awareness was developed. This framework advances existing models by unifying technical and behavioural analysis, with particular relevance for developing digital economies.
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