For some reason, when we generally think of hacking ,virus or malwares; we think laptop and computers.Mobile phones are most times ignored and that is why most people are conscious about protecting their Laptops/computers from hacking.Mobile phones are susceptible to hacking and malware just as our laptops /computers.
Back in 2018 there were a total of 151,359 mobile banking malwares and 60,176 new mobile-based Trojans reported.
Mobile phones holds a lot of precious and sensitive information and this makes them a target to hackers.
Are Mobile Threats Increasing?
According to 2018 Verizon Mobile security Index, Organizations say that mobile security risks are increasing.
• 85% said their businesses face at least a moderate risk from mobile security threats. 26% said it is a significant risk.
• 74% said that the risks associated with mobile devices have increased in the past year. Just 1% said they had gone down.
• 73% said that they expect risks to increase during the next year. Only 2% said that they expect them to decrease. – source: Appknox
Applications Threats and Attacks
HelpNetSecurity reported that mobile threats and attacks increase in both quantity and impact
- Forty five percent of all attacks detected on Android devices were malicious apps versus less than one percent of those detected on iOS. Ninety eight percent of all detected malicious apps were on Android.
- Five percent of enterprise mobile endpoints had sideloaded apps from sources outside the authorized and vetted Apple App Store or Google Play Store. Thirty six percent of the Android devices had sideloaded apps versus two percent of iOS ones.
- Seventy percent of iOS apps had advertising capabilities and iOS Bluetooth beacon usage exploded to 69 percent of apps (from 38 percent at the beginning of 2019).
- Twenty four percent of iOS apps passed sensitive information over the web unencrypted.
Threats to Mobile Devices
According to Techradar,Last year there were 116.5m attacks compared to 66.4m in 2017 with a significant increase in the number of unique users affected.
However, while more devices were attacked, the number of malware files has decreased, leading the firm’s researchers to conclude that the quality of mobile malware has become more impactful and precise.
Poor and weak passwords
Some users still don’t understand the value of a strong password they still take it for granted, when will they understand the importance of a password?Your smartphones holds sensitive personal and sometimes company’s information. Poor and weak passwords on your mobile devices will make it easier to access this information.
Drive-By Downloads
There are malware that are installed on your computer without your consent,they are known as drive-by downloads.If you visit the wrong website or open the wrong email, you might be exposed to a drive-by download that installs malware on your mobile device automatically. That can be anything from adware and spyware, to something far more nefarious, like a bot.
Phishing Apps
Phishing apps are a new take on an old theme. In the past, people used to send emails asking for your password because of a problem, hoping that you’d be trusting enough to answer. Phishing apps are apps designed to look like the real thing that use the information that you input. The smaller screen of a mobile device can make it difficult to tell the difference between the real thing and the phishing app.
Ads with Click Bait & Gift scams
Quick circulation and free spread is what makes ad/click bait and gift scams so common on social networking platforms and apps. These types of scams will send you to fake websites that may offer you fake promotions, download malicious apps onto your mobile device, and take complete control over it. It is very important for individuals to carefully analyze what may be fake and what may be legitimate in terms of ads, promotions and even headlines in order to avoid any harm. Users should be aware of such scams/ads and make sure to never visit suspicious links.
