Tag: mobile malware

Cybercriminals are not missing their opportunity to take advantage of unsuspecting smartphone users.

This year, there has been a very large increase in the amount of shopping that is being conducted over smartphones, from price comparisons to actual purchases, and with this trend has come a rise in mobile commerce security issues that are leaving a bad taste in the mouths of many shoppers.

Many companies are now releasing advice and tips to help shoppers to stay safe and to protect their sensitive data.

Among those releasing mobile commerce security support information is McAfee. In fact, that company has recently produced its 12 scams of Christmas to help to underscore the importance of this problem and to alert consumers as to some of the most common forms of fraud. This can help shoppers to know what action to take to help to protect themselves from falling victim to cybercriminals this year.

Malware is causing mobile commerce security issues from a broad range of different sources.

According to McAfee, the biggest scams from the year include the following:

• Shopping apps that look as though they are official – especially those that come with company or celebrity endorsements, but that are meant for stealing or sharing personal information.
• Holiday SMS text messages – many carry a FakeInstaller malicious code that fool an Android device user into thinking that it is a real app installer, except that this then sends out premium rate texts from the device.
• Too good to be true gift ads – clicking on offers that are far too good to be true can install malware into the device.
• Fake seasonal travel deals – when these links are used, hackers wait for private data to be entered so that it can be stolen.
• Fake e-cards and greetings – false but real looking e-cards can install viruses and malware when opened.
• Deceptive online games – these primarily target younger users, promising full versions of popular games, installing viruses and malware when downloaded.
• Fake shipping notifications – shipping updates that appear to be from popular retailers contain malware released when opened.
• False gift cards – promoted by way of deceptive social media ads.
• Holiday SMiShing – through messages where the cybercriminal poses as a credit card company or bank and requests financial data for security purposes.
• Fake charities – asking for donations though the funds won’t go to the designated cause.
• Romance and friendship scams – messages pretending to be from known individuals but that eventually request usernames, passwords, credit card information and others.
• False online retailers – McAfee revealed earlier this year that this mobile commerce security issue affects one in five online consumers, including those using smartphones.

This is exacerbated by the number of devices that remain unprotected.

Mobile security solutions providers are already struggling with the practices of many clients through their BYOD initiatives – which are becoming increasingly common – but a new report has indicated that the problem is growing on a large number of levels.

The report indicates that cybersecurity threats have taken off over the last two years, particularly in smartphones.

The study was conducted by Juniper Research Ltd., a firm based in the United Kingdom, and indicated that mobile security threats have taken off over the last couple of years and despite that fact, the majority of smartphones still remain nearly entirely unprotected.

This is because mobile security threats are starting to change in their primary focus.

Although cyber criminals had initially transferred their focus from PCs to mobile devices for consumers, they are starting to concentrate on the enterprise space to a growing degree. By the end of this year, it is expected that there will be one million types of mobile malware that will be thriving by the end of 2013.

In fact, the analysts at Juniper determined that over 80 percent of all consumer and enterprise owned smartphones will continue to be unprotected throughout the remainder of the year, despite the large exposure and considerable threat of malware. The slow mobile security protection is the result of low awareness among device users to the vulnerabilities, and the overall perception that these devices are too expensive to protect.

These findings were published in Juniper’s “Mobile Security: BYOD, mCommerce, Consumer &Enterprise 2013-2018” report. Within that report, Juniper divided the online landscape for mobile security threats down into various different segments. Approximately 70 percent of the threats were found to be able to steal a smartphone owner’s personal data that is stored on the device. An additional 20 percent of these types of malware are forms of adware and spyware that need the permission of the user for installation and that then proceed to collect device location, personal data, or usage behavior.

Though the mobile security situation may look bad, the report did indicate that there is a growth in awareness and that this is beginning to have an impact on the attitudes and behaviors of device users in securing their gadgets.