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Cape Town - Around one fifth of Android users were subject to cyber attacks in the last year as criminals increasingly turned their attention to mobile devices.
According to a study conducted by Interpol and security firm Kaspersky Lab, 20% of Kaspersky Lab mobile product users, or 1 000 000 people experienced dangerous software.
"The main reason for the increase in the number of attacks and attacked users was Trojan-SMS family programmes. These accounted for 57.08% of all detections made by Kaspersky Lab security solutions for Android-based devices globally," Kaspersky said.
The attacks were centred in Russia, India, Kazakhstan, Vietnam, Ukraine and Germany as most Android users in those countries relied on premium rate SMS to buy content for Android devices.
In SA, users that don't have credit cards can buy Android content by purchasing a Google Play voucher or transfer funds to a virtual credit card application. Virtual credit card providers usually charge a once-off fee.
Decline
Trojan SMSes are able to send messages to premium rate numbers without the mobile user's consent or knowledge and attacks peaked in March this year with 300 000 users targeted in that month alone.
However, Kaspersky noted a significant decline in attacks following the peak month.
"This may have been the result of new rules for the services paid via SMS introduced by Russia’s telecoms regulator. Now all Russian operators must be sent a confirmation message from any subscriber who is trying to pay for services via SMS, the company said.
The trend nevertheless is upward and as more people turn to mobile devices as their primary tool to connect to the internet, it is likely that criminals will follow them, mirroring the development of cyber security in the 1990s when most malware targeted Windows PCs.
Android commands around 85% of the smart device market according to research tracker the IDC and a platform monoculture makes it easier for criminals to launch widespread attacks.
Google has made a practice of removing suspicious or spam apps from the Play Store in an effort to build trust in the platform.
"Don't transmit viruses, worms, defects, Trojan horses, malware, or any other items of a destructive nature. We don't allow content that harms or interferes with the operation of the networks, servers, or other infrastructure of Google, carriers, or any third-parties. Spam, malicious scripts and password phishing scams are also prohibited on Google Play," Google says in Business and Program Policies document.
David Jacoby from Kaspersky Lab gives some tips to avoid malware in our YouTube video.
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