As business travel, hybrid and remote work continue, mobile travel apps open employees and their organizations up to cyber risks.

A threat research team from Kryptowire ran a risk assessment on commonly used applications associated with travel and ranked the threat scores of the highly downloaded apps on iOS devices to determine their threat levels to remote, hybrid or traveling employees and other users.

Top 5 travel applications by cyber threat level

• Disneyland: Threat score of 85
• Uber: 83.6
• Waze: 82.9
• Southwest Airlines: 82.2
• SpotHero: 80.1

“While it’s exciting that more people will resume leisure and business travel this summer, we can’t be naïve to the risks associated with modern travel, including mobile app usage,” said Alex Lisle, Chief Technology Officer of Kryptowire.

“In our new ‘hybrid work’ environment, it’s not just personal devices coming along for the ride. The lines continue to blur between personal bring your own device (BYOD) and professional devices, and its crucial employers and employees are aware of the potential risks.”

Mobile app security strategies for employees

There are many tips security teams can implement to reduce the cyber risks involved with using travel apps while working remotely or travelling for business.

1. Monitor access: Remove unnecessary permissions that allow access to device resources, such as camera roll, camera, microphone and contacts.
2. Secure devices: Organizations and should prioritize device security through frequent security and privacy readiness screening.
3. Update apps: Routinely update apps to ensure security and privacy concerns are limited.

For more information on the risks of travel apps, click here.