The latest information released by Trend Micro shows that the landscape is changing due to malware.
The Threat Security Roundup from Trend Micro has just been released and it has suggested that issues regarding mobile security threats are starting to change the trends in the overall protection and digital landscape.
Cyber criminals are becoming increasingly sophisticated in the way that they target smartphones and tablets.
Though the use of malware as a mobile security threat is nothing new, and it has been increasing for some time now, criminals are making much more complex and sophisticated attacks, says Trend Micro. According to the Trend Micro SA country manager, Gregory Anderson, “Our most recent threat report shows that cyber criminals have absolutely no regard for the privacy of Google Android smartphone and tablet users.”
Anderson pointed out that malicious apps over Android are creating a higher risk mobile security environment.
In fact, he stated that there has been an increase in high risk, malicious apps on that operating system by nearly 30 percent over the last quarter. Anderson explained that “Our Trend analysts tracked 718 000 separate instances of high-risk Android apps in the second quarter, up from 509 000 high-risk apps found in the first three months of this year. Based on these figures, we estimate that the number of high-risk Android applications available on the market will exceed a million by the end of 2013.”
The Android malware that has the greatest sophistication so far, has been nicknamed “obad” malware. It was discovered by Kaspersky Lab, which was also responsible for coming up with that nickname. It was that firm that identified the “master key” vulnerabilities that provide criminals with a way to quickly and easily take advantage of Android system weaknesses.
This problem has been a primary contributor to the skyrocketing increase in mobile security threats, particularly in smartphones and tablets that are Android based. At the very top of the list, according to Trend Micro’s report, is United Arab Emirates, in terms of the highest download volume of malicious apps. This was followed by Myanmar, Vietnam, and Mexico, in that order.
Though some may contain an Android Trojan virus that will download additional apps into a device or alter its normal operation, others can slip in undetected and collect the user’s personal data, only to send it away to remote servers of the developer. Many of them are using the old “bait and switch” technique that users often experience when they feel that they’re downloading one kind of app only to discover that they have received something primarily designed to keep a ton of ads constantly being displayed or that the home screen is changed around.