Significant advances in mobile systems and network security have become the highest priority among researchers in the field with the rapid proliferation of mobile devices and their emerging applications. Furthermore, with the widespread adoption of smartphones, there have been a growing number of mobile security breaches. As individuals increasingly connect their mobile systems with IoT devices, mobile security is becoming an ever-growing threat. Therefore, there is a pressing need to find more resilient security and privacy solutions. There is also rapid growth in mobile communication networks in comparison to the last few decades. Despite these advancements, there is still an increasing risk of security threats gradually spreading through these networks or bypassing them entirely if this is left unaddressed.

Mobile security threats usually result in compromising data from mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. This often occurs as a result of unauthorized access to devices, and attackers may perform a variety of malicious functions. The attackers can even steal the login credentials and spoof identities of an individual or organization, resulting in large-scale data leaks with irreversible consequences. Some basic mobile security threats include application-based mobile security threats, network threats, web-based threats, and physical threats. Finding the advances in security, privacy, and digital forensics of mobile systems and networks are some of the most prominent ways to effectively overcome mobile device security threats and help protect mobile devices. Digital forensics forms an effective way to recover digital evidence or related data from mobile devices in a way that protects evidence so that it is in a forensically sound condition. Since mobile devices are ubiquitous, the use of security, privacy, and digital forensics measures are crucial. However, finding appropriate and efficient security, privacy, and forensic measures to access mobile devices in a secure, efficient, and ethical manner is not a simple endeavor. Bringing in relatively new and holistic protocols has become an inevitable need. This is because, with the advancements in technology, mobile devices are becoming more complex and packed with more sensitive information and implementing traditional security protocols is becoming cumbersome and inefficient.

In this Special Issue, we aim to explore mobile phone security and privacy threats faced today and intend to explore some of the efficient solutions for minimizing security risks and improving the resilience of mobile applications. In particular, we welcome submissions focusing on security solutions and standards that are more robust, affordable, accessible, accountable, and efficient. Both original research and review papers are welcome.

Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:

• Advances in cybersecurity for next-generation mobile systems and networks
• Trends in 5G and 6G mobile security and communications
• Advances in the cloud and mobile user privacy
• Intrusion detection and digital forensics for mobile devices
• Innovations in smartphone/hardware security
• Advances in digital forensics for mobile operating systems and applications
• Vulnerabilities detection and remediation in mobile devices using artificial intelligence
• Advances in distributed machine learning for secure and privacy-preserving mobile
• Systems
• Biometrics-based access control solution and template protection for improved security and privacy
• Future of biometric template data protection for mobile devices
• Secure algorithms and methodologies for mobile application security
• Access control and authentication measures for mobile security
• Trust-based protocols for secure mobile devices