Hackers and virus developers now target mobile devices

While five years ago hackers and virus developers targeted personal computers, today mobile devices are their primary target.

According to a report by Kaspersky Lab analysing the mobile threat landscape last year, 145,000 new malicious programmes for mobile devices were detected with 98 per cent targeting Android devices. A total of 10 million malicious Android apps were detected between 2012 and 2013.

The report notes that criminals are creating complex codes, making it difficult for antivirus software to analyse them. Others infect mobile devices by distributing malware through alternative applications stores. While some take advantage of Android’s vulnerability to enhance malicious applications and make it more difficult for them to be removed.

A separate study, conducted by China-based mobile Internet service provider Cheetah, shows that one in every 10 Android applications is either partially or completely affected by malware. According to the survey, majority of the malware developed in the first quarter of the year was payment or financial data related with the aim of acquiring users’ financial details.

Data collected from Kenyan mobile operators shows that of the 10 million handsets available today, 40 per cent are smartphones, indicating the popularity of sophisticated devices in the country.

Mr Tyrus Muya, the head of information security and risk at Cellulant Group, told the Business Daily that in addition to downloading malicious software which can steal personal financial data, the theft of mobile devices also poses a risk to stored vital information.

“Ideally, one should only download applications from a trusted source like Google Playstore or Apple App store. Downloading applications from other third party sources is welcoming trouble because the app might be masquerading as legitimate yet it’s malware infested,” he said.

Mr Muya said that while every application is vulnerable, most software developers are keen to create updated versions which safeguard them.

“Most devices will alert you when there are newer versions and if you regularly update the operating system and install antivirus software you have a better chance of mitigating against threats,” he said.

Accessing the Internet through free Wi-fi hotspots which are not encrypted can compromise one’s mobile phone by allowing malicious users to access information stored on it.

“Some medium and high-end smart devices come with their own native solutions that allow for remote wiping or formatting of a device which has been stolen or lost to avoid losing valuable data to a random individual,” he said.

Accidental erasure

To avoid accidental erasure of data, Mr Muya advised users to back-up their photos and other documents onto the Cloud using applications such as Dropbox.

He said that while the bring-your-own-device to work policy allows controlled use of mobile devices in organisations, it also poses risks when devices harbouring malicious applications are allowed into the corporate network as they can access company information.

The Kenya Cyber Security Report 2014 notes that security at the local enterprise level is still in its infancy. The report says that the growing trend where staff take their devices to offices could introduce new risks to organisations such as compromising corporate ICT infrastructure.

Mr Silas Macharia, the technology firm’s security expert, said that mobile malware was growing with more than 11 million devices globally being targeted in the last year alone.

“Hackers are also recognising the growth of mobile devices, they are no longer aggressively targeting desktops and laptops which are protected through company infrastructure because they are harder to crack. They are opting for the easier operating systems of mobile devices,” he said.

Accessed by hackers

Mr Macharia was speaking to journalists in Nairobi during the launch of the IBM Mobile First platform recently. He said that the threat was more eminent among companies which allow employees to access corporate data using their own laptops, tablets and smartphones.

“Instead of going through company firewalls hackers are now focusing on mobile devices, which have less stringent security measures yet access the same corporate data. For instance, today so many people access their office email on their smartphones,” he said

IBM’s Mobile First allows companies to create layers of security on their employees’ mobile devices to prevent attacks and unauthorised access in addition to formatting devices.

Mr Cory Wiegert, the IBM regional director for product management software, said that the platform makes mobile computing safer. It is also a secure emailing and text messaging platform for employees.

“You can develop application scans to ensure that there is no malware hidden in the code. It also provides a data wrapper to all the information being communicated via text or email, making it hard for corporate information to be accessed by hackers,” he said.

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