Cyber criminals are increasingly targeting mobile devices as they look to exploit consumer ignorance of potential security risks associated with smartphones and tablet PCs. The amount of malicious software designed specifically to target mobile devices rose 46 per cent in 2010, says a report by IT security group McAfee.
The report also found that whereas hackers tended to focus on finding breaches in Nokia’s Symbian operating platform, Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android systems were increasingly targeted as they gained market share.
Shipments of smartphones that run on Google’s Android operating system overtook those containing Nokia’s Symbian platform for the first time in the fourth quarter, research company Canalys said last week. Google’s Android system is open-sourced and the platform has been adopted by a range of handset makers including HTC, Samsung and Motorola.
Researchers have recently identified security flaws in some smartphones that run on Android, which they say hackers could exploit to steal personal information or even record conversations by installing rogue applications.
Google said it “co-operates with security researchers to rapidly develop fixes for reported issues.”
The security breaches are particularly concerning for handset makers hoping to attract corporate customers.
Research in Motion, the Canadian manufacturer of the BlackBerry, remains particularly attractive to corporate executives and government officials due to built-in security features, such as encrypted e-mail.
Several handset makers are installing additional, tailor-made security features on their next range of Android devices to make them more appealing to corporate customers and the increasing number of consumers who use their personal smartphones for work.
Greg Day, McAfee’s director of security and strategy for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, said that while attacks on mobile phones were not new, they were growing steadily. He said many consumers were using mobile devices as an extension of their PCs but without carrying out the ame safeguards when it came to protecting bank passwords and personal data.
In some cases criminals have adapted existing pieces of “malware” for smartphones – such as Zeus, which can be spread to computers using rogue e-mails or spoof links sent via social networking sites.
Hackers are also trying to take advantage of the popularity of app stores by inserting malware into legitimate mobile phone applications and games.
McAfee said that while the number of threats to mobile devices was still a fraction of the amount aimed at PCs, it was clear cyber criminals were “keeping tabs on what’s popular and what will have the biggest impact from the smallest effort”.