Tag: mobile security research

Predictions consistently forecast a massive increase in problems of this nature for smartphones and tablets.

The latest forecasts regarding mobile security threats in 2014 have indicated that clickjacking, watering hole attacks, and other threats over smartphones and tablets will continue to grow in the danger that they will present.

Cyber criminals are increasingly expanding the focus of their attacks to a broader range of technologies.

According to Trend Micro, these cyber criminals are tucking themselves away in the Deep Web and are using much more sophisticated and targeted attack campaigns. This firm, which is an expert in internet and mobile security threats, has made its predictions for this year and has released them in its web video project which was entitled “2020: the Series”. This looked not only at this year but at the problems that will be faced right through to the end of this decade.

According to the firm, this year will already be a considerable one for mobile security threats.

The CTO of Trend Micro, Raimund Genes, has explained that 2014 will be a “prolific year for cybercrime”. This will have an impact on individuals, businesses, and even governments. Among the most common techniques are likely to be spear phishing, open source research. These are forecasted to experience a large amount of growth this year, particularly as best practice knowledge is shared throughout the cyber criminal community.

Two of the most problematic areas in smartphone and tablet use will be in dangers in mobile banking and in targeted attacks. The report indicated that the traditional two-step verification will no longer be enough to ensure that the user remains protected.

Other forms of attack that are likely to continue to take off are malicious apps as well as man-in-the-middle attacks. These are likely to be problematic for both individual consumers and corporate users of smartphones.

The vice president of security research Trend Micro, Rik Ferguson, spoke of this trend in mobile security threats, saying that “Technology advances only more rapidly and attackers are consistently just behind the crest of that innovation, waiting for widespread consumer adoption of new gadgets, new platforms or new ways of doing things.”

The study indicated that approximately 90 percent of companies are making a concerted effort.

The findings from the latest study conducted by AT&T have indicated that small businesses in the United States are making proactive efforts to ensure that mobile security is a central part of their efforts over that channel.

As company heads see a growing number of headlines regarding data breaches, more protection efforts are being taken.

Businesses are regularly seeing mobile security risks in the headlines in terms of data breaches, cyberattacks, and even natural disasters such as the tornadoes in Oklahoma and Superstorm Sandy. This awareness is causing those in charge of IT to boost their efforts to protect themselves against damage from these types of events while at the same time they put their own disaster recovery plans into place.

On an increasing basis, these disaster recovery plans are incorporating mobile security into their strategies.

The largest wireless operator in the country has stated that among the mobile security efforts have included the incorporation of apps, wireless network capabilities and cloud services. The AT&T study’s results also included the following:

• 84 percent of American company execs are concerned about the mobile security risks associated with using the devices and mobile networks, and the increase in threats that this could bring about.
• Over half of the executives that took part in the survey (63 percent) felt that the most important security concern this year was the threat of a data breach.
• 88 percent of the respondents stated that they understood the growing need for mobile security efforts and that their own companies already had established a proactive strategy.
• 64 percent of the companies surveyed included their wireless network capabilities as an element of their business continuity plan.
• 87 percent of the surveyed execs said that their companies already had a precautionary business continuity plan established in case of a catastrophe or a threat. This was just a sliver higher than it had been in 2012, when it was 86 percent.

According to the AT&T AVP of mobile, cloud, and access management security, Michael Singer, in a statement about this mobile security survey, “Companies today are very aware and concerned about the potential threats that could disrupt their operations.” He added that “With their business continuity plans in place, businesses are investing in new technologies like network enabled cloud services to help strengthen and expand their overall continuity strategies.”