Samsung is one of the biggest makers of smartphones including the popular Samsung Galaxy phones.  Recently, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) reported that the Find My Mobile remote control service, which is a security feature that permits the phone owner, among other things, to lock their phone, wipe out stored personal information and make the phone ring at maximum volume for a full minute.  These features are helpful if your smartphone is lost or stolen.  Unfortunately, according to the NIST, hackers can use the same tool to remotely lock the phone or destroy stored information quite easily since the service does not require any authentication.  There is a concern that hackers will lock your phone and threaten to destroy your information unless you pay a ransom.

TIPS

At the present time Samsung has not found a remedy for this problem so the best thing you can do to protect yourself is to disable the Find My Mobile feature.