Android platform draws cyber-criminals' attention

CEBU, Philippines - As mobile communication becomes one of the essentials for people nowadays and as models become too sophisticated so as with the threats that are attached to it, due to the popularity of Google’s Android operating system.

In a study conducted by software security firm Kaspersky Lab, shows that mobile device threats have steadily increased from the period of August 2009 to December 2010, accounting for 65 percent increase.

About 1,000 variants of 153 “families” of mobile device threats were found during the period.

Kaspersky Lab senior malware analyst Dennis Maslennikov said the list of platforms targeted by malicious programs expanded considerably in 2010.

The growing popularity of the Android platform has inevitably drawn the cyber-criminals attention, he said.

In August 2010, the first malicious program targeting android was detected, and since then, that number has reached 15 programs from a total of 7 families.

The first threats targeting Apple's iPhone OS also appeared during this last reporting period, but infected only devices that had been jail-broken in order to install third-party games and other software not manufactured by Apple.

Most mobile threats continue to target the Java 2 micro edition (J2ME) platform, which is supported by a huge number of mobile devices. This means that it is not only smartphones that are at risk of infection, but basic mobile phones as well.

The second most-targeted platform is Symbian, with Python in third place, the report identified.

“The use of SMS Trojans is still the easiest and most effective means by which malicious users can earn money. The reason is relatively simple--any mobile device, be it a smartphone or a basic mobile phone, has a direct connection to its owner’s money via their mobile account. It is this ‘direct connection’ that cyber-criminals actively exploit,” said Maslennikov.

From 2010 onwards, sending fee-based text messages ceased to be the sole illegal money-making scheme for virus writers developing threats targeting different platforms.

Other unlawful schemes such as redirecting mobile internet banking users to “phishing” sites and stealing passwords sent by banks to mobile phones were also used.

Mobile threats have become more complex than ever and include the emergence of mobile bots and other remotely-controlled software, he warned.

“This means that attacks launched by mobile threats have reached a completely new level,” Maslennikov says.

Kaspersky Lab predicts an increase in the number of vulnerabilities found on mobile platforms, as well as an increase in the number of threats for android and the continued use of short numbers by cyber-criminals.

Kaspersky Lab is the largest antivirus company in Europe. It delivers some of the world's most immediate protection against IT security threats, including viruses, spyware, crimeware, hackers, phishing, and spam.

The company is ranked among the world's top four vendors of security solutions for endpoint users. Kaspersky Lab products provide superior detection rates and one of the industry's fastest outbreak response times for home users, SMBs, large enterprises and the mobile computing environment.—  (THE FREEMAN)