It’s true that mobile devices make our life easier. However, their upsurge gave hackers another area to exploit beyond antiquated PCs, and harbingers the end of the PC era.  It is safe to assume that mobile malware exists in proportion with smartphones, piggybacking on the mobile industry’s success.

With Android operating system launching in 2008 and subsequently gaining a lead in the OS race, mobile malware has become epidemic that led PCMag to put forward the possibility of 2010 being the “The Year of Mobile Malware.” According to a report released by security specialists at Juniper Networks and Bullguard, malware targeting Android have grown four-fold in less than a year, from June 2010 to January 2011.

This was rather expected, since apps in the Android Market itself tripled from 80,000 to 300,000 in just 10 months, looking at August 2010 to May 2011. There’s also a recent report from Visiongain that reveals cybercriminals plaguing mobile platform with malware to take advantage of devices with poor security.

Moreover, Lookout Security released a study that echoes the results of the Juniper-Bullguard research. There’s a good deal of malware targeting Google’s operating system, some of these malware with capabilities that will run a chill down your spine.  Take for example an Android hack that records phone calls.  In fact, here’s a catalog for Android’s 8 most notorious malware incidents.  Attackers are particularly targeting Android as it appears to be the easiest prey among other marketplaces, as it’s open source.  Android’s strength turned out to be the chink in its armor.

Shifting our sights on Asia where there tends to be an even larger user base and opportunity for cyberattacks, there’s a controversial mobile malware in China with a rather novel way to infect Android devices.  According to researchers at Trend Micro, the new Trojan app furtively subscribes the affected device to premium services. The subscription initiates when the users type specific words in text messages.

Malware dangers aren’t scarecrows, but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing you can do about them. Here’s an effective infographicput together by Bullguard on the basics of malware and what precautions you can take to protect yourself from them.


Created by BullGuard