The Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market of the Republic of Kazakhstan has published consumer advice on securing smartphones used for banking and other digital services. It recommends strengthening device access controls, protecting key accounts with two factor authentication, installing security updates and limiting applications’ access to personal and financial data. Consumers should install applications only from official stores, review permissions and remove unused or unfamiliar software, particularly applications with advanced access rights. The advice also calls for secure backups, caution when using public Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, and checks for unknown devices or active account sessions. Users should never disclose confirmation codes, install applications at another person’s direction or grant remote access to their phones. Bank, government and other organizational employees are not authorized to request codes received by SMS or notification.

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