Malware Goes Mobile

The buzz regarding mobile malware has begun to infiltrate our news headlines, but is there really a threat to our smartphone/tablet way of life?  According to McAfee Labs, mobile malware attacks have skyrocketed in the past couple years.  In fact, in a sample population, researchers with McAfee Labs found malware samples grew from 792 in 2011 to a staggering 50,926 samples in 2013!

But don’t trade in your new iPhone 5 for a “dumb-phone” or landline quite yet.  According to technology journalist Antone Gonsalves these frightening numbers may just be a way for the big anti-virus companies to grow their profits even bigger.  Apparently, the majority of malware attacks referenced in the reports were found outside of the U.S. in places such as Asia and Eastern Europe where users tend to download more third-party apps.  These third-party apps are the primary gateways to mobile threats, as they are more easily penetrated by hackers looking to steal mobile information.  Because most users in the U.S. go directly to official app stores, which carefully regulate and guard their software, it is much more unlikely for criminals to breach U.S. user downloads.

That being the case, there is still a small mobile malware threat, even to those of us in the U.S.  How can you best protect yourself?  A lot of the same techniques you use for your computer or laptop can be applied to your mobile habits as well.  First and foremost, stay away from pornography!  And not just because your mother said so.  According to a report by Blue Coat, a network management and network security company, pornography sites were visited less than one percent of any other site category, but more than 20 percent of malware can be traced back to those pornographic sites.  It is also important to stay away from suspicious sites, advertisements, downloads, spam, and phishing requests.  In short, instead of buying expensive anti-virus software for your mobile device, you may want to save your money for that next big app or iTunes download you’ve been looking forward to.  For now, being aware of the potential malware threat in suspicious places and practicing these mobile safety habits may be all you need to prevent your mobile device from becoming a victim.

Works Cited

McAfee Labs. (2013). McAfee Threats Report: First Quarter 2013. Mcafee.com. Retrieved September, 2013 from http://www.mcafee.com/us/resources/reports/rp-quarterly-threat-q1-2013.pdf.

Gonsalves, Antone. (September 2013). Mobile Security Trends: The greatest mobile threats (and Android malware isn’t one of them). Computerworld.com. Retrieved September, 2013 from http://blogs.computerworld.com/mobile-security/22815/greatest-mobile-threats-and-android-malware-isnt-one-them.

Blue Coat Systems, Inc. (2013). Blue Coat Systems 2013 Mobile Malware Report: How Users Drive the Mobile Threat Landscape. Bluecoat.com. Retrieved September, 2013 from http://www.bluecoat.com/sites/default/files/documents/files/BC_2013_Mobile_Malware_Report-v1d.pdf.