Sontiq has upgraded the user interface of its IdentityForce Mobile App with the release of a new feature that notifies app users about potential threats to their smartphone. Dubbed Mobile Attack Control, the feature is built with technology from Sontiq’s Mobile Defense Suite.

Mobile Attack Control will watch for cybersecurity threats like spyware, rogue apps, and unsecured Wi-Fi connections. Sontiq notes that smartphone takeovers went up 79 percent over the course of the past year, which is especially concerning given the number of people who rely on their devices for business purposes. The Australian government has suggested that the recent trend of data breaches is likely to continue, while Onfido indicated that identity theft has become an increasingly professional operation on its Global Fraud Index. 

For its part, Sontiq is pitching the IdentityForce Mobile App as a potential solution to those kinds of problems.

“Infusing IdentityForce’s identity theft protection capabilities with Mobile Attack Control is the next evolution of mitigating threats to our members’ digital footprints,” said Sontiq COO Angela Murphy. “We have also updated the mobile app’s user interface with a more modernized experience for faster pinpointing of key personal protection information and alerts.”

Thanks to Mobile Attack Control, the IdentityForce Mobile App will proactively warn users if their device has been compromised, with Dashboard views to make the information easier to process. The App also provides credit and social media monitoring to help stop identity theft and fraud, and supports two-factor authentication through face or fingerprint recognition. IdentityForce first introduced two-factor authentication back in 2017.

Mobile Attack Control will be a free update for IdentityForce customers. A recent True Cost of Fraud report from LexisNexis Risk Solutions found that financial crime has been getting more expensive for American lenders and financial institutions, who lose more than $3 for every dollar lost to fraud.