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Android Under Attack: Malware Levels for Google’s OS Rise Threefold in Q2 2012
August 2012 by Kaspersky Lab
Below is a summary of the level of malicious programs targeting the Android platform
during spring and early summer 2012. The number of new malicious programs targeting
the Android platform has almost trebled in the second quarter of the year, according
to figures from Kaspersky Lab’s Q2 report on IT threat evolution. Over the three
months in question, over 14,900 new malicious programs targeting this platform were
added to Kaspersky Lab’s database.
These statistics demonstrate that virus writers are increasingly focusing on
developing malicious programs for mobile devices.
Classification of Android Trojans
Nearly half (49 per cent) of these malicious files targeting Android devices were
multi-functional Trojans that steal data from telephones (contact names, email
addresses, telephone numbers, etc.), and are also capable of downloading additional
modules from servers run by malicious users.
A quarter of the detected Android malware was made up of SMS Trojans. These
malicious programs steal money from victims’ accounts by sending SMS messages to
premium-rate numbers without the owner’s knowledge or consent. A couple of years
ago, these programs could be only found in the countries of the former USSR,
South-East Asia, and China. Today, they are spreading around the world: in Q2 2012,
Kaspersky Lab protected users in 47 countries against SMS threats.
18 per cent of Android threats detected in the second quarter this year are
backdoors that give malicious users the ability to gain full control over an
infected device. These programs are used to build botnets of mobile devices. For
now, only a small number of all Android threats are Trojan Spy programs – just 2
per cent of the total. However, these are the malicious programs that pose the
greatest threat to users. These programs are on the hunt for the most valuable data
that give malicious users access to bank accounts.
“In the near future, we expect not only more malware, but more effective and
dangerous malware targeting Android. Judging from existing trends, we should expect
that cybercriminals will soon shift to more personalised attacks. This is primarily
about malware hunting for confidential data with which to steal money from users’
credit cards”, said Yuri Namestnikov, Senior Malware Analyst at Kaspersky Lab.
Mobile threats of this kind can be handled with the help of dedicated mobile
applications. Kaspersky Mobile Security and Kaspersky Tablet Security, in addition
to reliable protection against information theft via malware, also ensure data stays
safe even if the device is lost or stolen.
