Malware Is Rising on ‘Wide Open’ Android Devices
Thursday, August 4th, 2011Mobile malware is on the rise, and Android users are feeling the pain. According to a new report from Lookout Mobile Security, Android users are 2.5 times as likely to encounter malware today than just six months ago.
Of course, Android isn’t alone. Lookout estimates three out of 10 mobile users are likely to click on an unsafe link, including malicious and phishing links, over the course of a year. Still, analysts agree that Android’s open platform broadens the malware risk.
“Many people are talking about how Android is not safe because of all the malware,” said Michael Disabato, managing vice president of network and telecom at Gartner. “Apple checks the code, and there is no undetectable malware on un-jailbroken iOS. Google is not doing any of the checking, so it’s wide open.”
Android Threats
Discovered in June, GGTracker is the first known Android malware that specifically targets U.S.-based users. This malware signs users up for premium text-message subscription services without their knowledge, charging $10 per service to a person’s phone bill.
“Symantec, Sybase, McAfee and others are going to start pushing antivirus scanners for your smartphone, which will render it useless,” Disabato said. “What happens when your Windows laptop goes into scan mode? Imagine doing that on a smartphone.”
Lookout also reported that attackers employ a tactic called malvertising, where they use mobile ads to direct users to a malicious web site that triggers an automatic malware download. Meanwhile, the number of unique apps with malware grew from 80 to 400 in the first half of 2011.
Two of the most prevalent threats, DroidDream and GGTracker, were regularly published in new mobile apps over the first half of the year. During this period, the authors of DroidDream released more than 80 unique applications with variations of malware to take control of a user’s phone….
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