Juniper networks has released their third annual mobile threats report which says that Mobile malware is becoming “an increasingly profit-driven business,”Their report said that mobile malware across all mobile platforms grew 155% in 2011, while the figure increased to 614% by march 2013 and nearly 276,258 malicious apps are present.
The exact figures might might be shocking but they aren’t worrying as they could expect the trend of moving to mobile. Juniper points out that more attackers are now shifting towards mobiles rather than PC market
Juniper security researchers also highlighted the following four indicators of a shift in mobile malware “from cottage industry to developed market”:
Targeting Markets with Greatest ROI: Criminals are focusing the vast majority of threats on Android and its open ecosystem for apps and developers, a trend that is likely to continue for years to come. In 2010, Android made up 24 percent of all known mobile malware threats, in 2011 the figure increased to 47 percent, and by March 2013, Android was the target of 92 percent of all known threats.
Shortened Supply Chains: Juniper identified more than 500 third-party Android application stores hosting mobile malware. These third-party alternatives to official marketplaces often have low levels of accountability, meaning malicious apps are rarely removed. These stores are not limited to Android: several million jailbroken iOS devices rely on them to side load apps. Of these malicious third-party stores, three out of five originate from China and Russia, two emerging markets infamous for malware in the PC space.
Multiple Paths to Market: Less sophisticated mobile criminals are exploiting holes in mobile payments to make a quick and easy profit via the likes of SMS Trojan and Fake Installer. According to Juniper, each successful download provides attackers around $10 in immediate profit.
Fragmentation: Attackers continue to benefit from the largely fragmented Android ecosystem, leaving users exposed to well-known and documented threats. Google provides protection against SMS threats – which make up 77 percent of Android malware – in its latest OS version, yet only 4 percent of phones have it. Juniper argues this threat could be largely eliminated if OEMs and carriers found a way to regularly update devices.
Juniper’s latest report is based on analysis of more than 1.85 million mobile apps and vulnerabilities across major mobile operating systems.
Source Credits: Thenextweb
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