Check Point researchers warn of a 50 percent increase in smartphone targets compared to last year.
This year, malware attacks against mobile devices-and Android in particular-have rocked. Hackers have focused more and more on attacking smartphones by stealing credentials, monitoring and malicious advertising.
Researchers at Check Point looked into cyber-attacks during the first half of 2019 and found that cyber-attacks aimed at mobile devices and smartphones increased by 50% compared to last year. The findings were outlined in the 2019 mid-year report on cyber-attack trends.
The paper suggests that one of the main reasons why mobile banking applications are increasingly being used. Cyber criminals have been following the money and distributing malware to rob payment data, login credentials and ultimately money from bank accounts of victims.
Maya Horowitz, director of threat information and research at Check Point, said ZDNet “The sharp increase in mobile banking malware is related to the growing use of mobile banking applications.
“The malware methodologies used to distribute have also been taken from the broader threat landscape–malware builders that can be bought in underground fora,” she added.
In many cases, malware attacks follow distribution strategies similar to those targeting desktop users, and applications run silently without the victim being the wiser.
In some Android malware, the most important persistence on infected devices was developed with advanced evasion techniques.
For example, only after motion sensors detected the device was moved will the Anubis bank trojan start operating-a strategy to avoid it being detected and analyzed in the environments with a sandbox.
Meanwhile, other malware has been reportedly disabled for Android’s safety Google Protect to help rob bank customers of their data.
The most frequently used mobile malware is Triada, which accounts for 30% of known assaults this year when analyzing malicious software distributed throughout the world.
Triada is seen as one of Android’s most advanced malware forms, granting super-user privileges for attackers that allow them to control the device. It was also found on more than 20,000 low-end smartphones before installation.
Lotoor, an Android operating system vulnerability hacking tool for root privileges in compromised mobile devices, and Hiddad, malware which repackages legitimate third-party distribution apps and uses advertisements to bomb the victim are two other most common mobile threats.
Researchers warn against attackers increasingly targeting smartphone users as users move towards mobile devices over laptops and computers. In addition to the large quantities of data contained on the devices, users often regard security as more afterthought than their home or office computer.
“Users need a holistic solution to protect your devices, blocking malware and network attacks, preventing data flight and theft of credentials, without affecting the user’s experience,” said Horowitz.
