The Information and Decision Support Center released awareness videos on Facebook to clarify the National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority’s (NTRA) recent warning about mobile phone hacking attempts. Through an interview with Engineer Mohamed Ibrahim, Head of Community Engagement at the NTRA, the videos explained that the statement was a precautionary and awareness-raising measure, not an indication that citizens’ phones had already been hacked.
The NTRA highlighted that mobile phones now store highly sensitive personal, financial, and service-related data, making them attractive targets for cyberattacks, which are a global phenomenon affecting around 150 countries. The Authority stressed the importance of digital literacy as the first line of defense and provided guidance to reduce hacking risks.
Regarding preventive measures, the Community Engagement Officer emphasized the importance of enabling automatic application updates. He explained that most applications release periodic updates to address security vulnerabilities that may emerge over time, and that ignoring these updates could expose mobile phones to hacking risks. Enabling automatic updates, he noted, is a simple yet crucial step in protecting data.
He also warned against interacting with messages and links from unknown sources, explaining that many hacking attempts occur through links containing malware that installs itself on the phone once opened. He stressed the importance of verifying the source of any message or link and avoiding interaction with suspicious content.
He pointed out that the challenge has become more complex in some cases, as messages or links may appear to come from known sources. This makes it necessary to carefully review the style and wording of messages and compare them with the sender’s usual communication patterns. He urged citizens to be cautious of messages offering prizes or claiming deliveries or services they did not request, noting that curiosity is often a key entry point for hacking attempts. The statement aimed to reassure citizens, not alarm them, and successfully increased public awareness, as shown by heightened media engagement and direct inquiries to the NTRA.
Source: Egypt Today
