Android Virus Threats
2013 Security Threat Report from Sophos indicates Android virus threats are increasing.
With Android covering 53.6 percent of US market this is not something to overlook. The Threat Report shows over 10 percent of android device owners claiming to have been hit by at least one virus attack in the last three months. In comparison only 6 percent of PC owners claim this.
“Targets this large are difficult for malware authors to resist,” the report said. “And they aren’t resisting – attacks against Android are increasing rapidly.”
Most common pranks involve installation of fake application which hacker then uses to send expensive text messages. There are much worst attacks though. Hackers are now capable of bypassing a double authentication required by banks to complete a payment. Cyber hacker simply leaves spying malware to scan your authentication code the bank just sent you to do your payment.
Attacks don’t just happen on unsafe or non-reputable sites. Some 80 percent of these attacks happen to surfers of highly established and trustworthy websites. Hackers use badly configured or outdated websites to steal passwords and install malware. With more reputable sites hakers tend to install malware that gets pulled by computers when these sites open. Attacks happen on various platforms, social networks, cloud services and mobile devices.
The riskiest country is Hong Kong with 23.54 percent of people experiencing some sort of virus during the 90 days examined. In Taiwan about 21.26 percent of computers run some sort of malware. The third riskiest country is United Arab Emirates with 20.78 percent, followed by Mexico with 19.81 percent and India with 17.44 percent.
Safest country to surf is Norway with just 1.81 percent of attacks reported, followed by Sweden with 2.59 percent and Japan with 2.63 percent of PCs attacked. UK and Switzerland are also safe.
Sophos further adds,
“Malware creators are also targeting mobile devices as we experience a whole new set of operating systems with different security models and attack vectors,” it added. “Our efforts must focus on protecting and empowering end users – no matter what platform, device, or operating system they choose.”
Via PCworld
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