Cyber Thieves Targeting Android Devices

In a short space of time, Android has claimed the lions share of the mobile market – in fact more than 900 million Android mobile devices have now been activated. Unfortunately, this popularity has put a large target on the platform’s back.

Lutz Blaeser

This popularity among users makes it the number one attack platform for malware authors, says Lutz Blaeser, MD of Intact Security.

Android has become a lucrative target. In fact, experts expect the number of new Android malware programs to triple over the next six months. Due to the popularity of the platform, attacks on smart mobile devices has gradually developed, with money being motive behind the attacks.

Just like in the early days of PC malware, the malicious functions in Android apps are already being disguised in the source code. This prevents automated analyses and human analysts from reading the malicious functions directly.

A total of 519,095 new malicious files were detected in the first half of this 2013, an average of 2 868 new Android malware files per day. Malware authors create malware for use in their own attacks, and also sell it on dubious online markets too. Trojan horses, designed to steal login details and access bank accounts, are still the dominant type of malware, as they have been in the PC malware sector for years.

“Cybercrime is and will continue to be mainly financially motivated,” Blaeser adds. “Either directly, by sending premium SMS or similar, or indirectly by selling stolen data.” Smart devices should be handled with
as much care as the home or work PC when it comes to protecting them from viruses, Trojans, backdoors and such like protecting personal data and valuables. Attackers of mobile devices will be no less dangerous than PC attackers in the future.

Please people handle your devices securely, and be very careful of your downloads from app stores, so as not to fall prey.