Cybersecurity 101: How Rebooting Your Device Can Save You from Cyber Threats

Most people assume that security means installing antivirus software, enabling two-factor authentication, or avoiding shady links. Not to complaint, because even I was the same as like you before getting introduced to this cyber security world. While all those antivirus software, two-factor authentications are all important, one of the easiest and most overlooked security habits is simply restarting your phone regularly. Yes you wouldn’t believe that, but trust me that it is one of the most effective precautions you can do and I firmly believe that I can justify this statement by the end of this article. So, here are the few reason why I feel it is more important to reboot periodically and how it enhances the security:

1. Mitigating Memory-Resident Malware
Many forms of malware, such as spyware and adware, operate in volatile memory (RAM) rather than being written to disk. This includes zero-click exploits (i.e. it requires no interaction from the user to execute malicious code). I will also circle back in a while on how zero-click exploit was defended to an extent just by rebooting the device with a real-time incident. This malicious code is injected into system processes without user interaction. And we all know that, a reboot clears the RAM, thus effectively removing temporary infections and breaking active attack chains.

2. Disrupting Persistent Attacks
Certain attack techniques, such as man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks or remote code execution (RCE) exploits, rely on continuous sessions and active network connections. Restarting the device can disrupt these attacks by terminating active connections, forcing the attacker to restart their intrusion attempt, and this makes it harder for the attacker since the intrusion attempts are restarted again.

3. Closing Exploited System Vulnerabilities
When a vulnerability is exploited, attackers often create temporary backdoors that grant remote access until the system is rebooted. Restarting can close these backdoors, as many exploits depend on persistent session hijacking, which fails when the process is restarted.

4. Forcing System Integrity Checks
Many modern operating systems such as Android Verified Boot and Apple Secure Boot perform integrity checks on restart. If an unauthorized modification has occurred (e.g., system partition tampering or unauthorized app installations), these checks can detect and prevent further execution.

For these four main reasons, it is always effective that rebooting a mobile device can always harden the attack and serve as the first line of defense.

Real-World Incident: How Rebooting Helped Against Pegasus Spyware
One of the most infamous cases of zero-click exploits was the Pegasus spyware attack, which targeted journalists, activists, and politicians globally.

The attackers sent an invisible iMessage or WhatsApp message containing a hidden exploit and without requiring any user action, the spyware exploited a zero-day vulnerability in iOS or Android. Security researchers, including The Citizen Lab, discovered that Pegasus did not write itself to permanent storage but instead operated entirely in volatile memory (RAM) to avoid detection.

To counteract this, cybersecurity experts recommended frequent reboots (at least once in two days) to disrupt the spyware’s persistence. Since volatile memory is erased during a reboot, restarting the phone forced Pegasus to lose its active infection, significantly reducing the attacker’s ability to maintain long-term access.

While this did not remove the vulnerability itself, it broke the spyware’s continuous control, forcing attackers to reinfect the device.

I guess this real-world incident might create you an awareness on how rebooting your device is more useful on security aspect. I always believe that the initial step of being secure starts from oneself and having proper awareness on security might be crucial key. I hope this article might create an awareness not only for the cyber security enthusiasts but also for all the people who have read the article this far.