Ten Percent of Mobile Subscribers at Serious Risk of ID Theft

Data aggregated from global operators indicates 60% of suspicious domains are linked to phishing Thursday, November 2nd, 2017 EDISON, New Jersey, Nov. 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ Korea IT Times-- Flash Networks, the leading provider of mobile Internet optimization, security, and engagement solutions, today published new market data highlighting the vulnerability of mobile users to ID theft via phishing attacks. Alarmingly, data collected from global operators shows that more than 10% of users are exposed to phishing attempts. Mobile subscribers are being exposed to increasing risk as the volume and sophistication of attacks escalate. Data from mobile operator deployments reveal that: 3% of all domains visited are classified...

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500 Android apps blocked from Play Store due to malware

Through the use of an advertising software development kit contained in 500 apps on the Google Play Store, cybercriminals were able to spy on users and even infect their mobile devices with malware.  That's according to security firm Lookout , which discovered that the Android apps in question all had the lgexin ad SDK built into them which gave unauthorised third parties access to user devices.  The apps themselves also managed to be downloaded over 100 million times from the Google Play Store as many of them fell into popular categories such as weather, health and fitness, travel and games.  However, the app developers were likely not responsible for the malware added by the cybercriminals and this is...

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3 simple steps to getting smart on mobile security

Mobile devices and apps are how work gets done these days. Employees aren’t tied to their desks, work doesn’t always mean sitting down from 9-5 and meetings can take place anywhere from a coffee shop to the sidelines of a soccer game. However, as the adoption of mobile devices (smartphones and tablets) continues to increase, both employers and employees need to be aware of their company’s security policies. According to the International Data Corporation (IDC), smartphone shipments to the Middle East and Africa saw unprecedented year-on-year growth of 83% in Q4 of 2014. Another report by Forrester, found that only 57% of employees are aware of their company’s security policies, which means that 43 percent or more might be actively bypassing company security policies and not even know...

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Mobile malware grows nearly three-fold in Q2 2015

So you’ve got your PC locked down so tight you even battle to get in sometimes, but how much care are you taking when it comes to mobile security? If your answer to that question is something along the lines of “not much”, you might want to step it up a notch. According to security provider Kaspersky, some 291 800 new mobile malware programmes emerged in Q2, which is 2.8 times greater than in Q1. There were 1-million mobile malware installation packages in Q2, which is seven times greater than in Q1. The company notes that mobile banking remains a main target for mobile threats. A new version of apreviously existing Trojan for instance is capable of attacking 114 (four times more) banking and financial applications as its previous iteration. Its main goal is to steal the user’s...

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How to increase security and privacy on your Android or iOS device

A A If you’re concerned about your privacy and security while using a mobile device, here are a few tips. Privacy, in this age, seems to be a flight of fancy. Even separating the awarenessEdward Snowden raised of the level of government surveillance, we live in a connected world. Almost every action we take online can be reviewed by someone. I don’t think I’m alone in saying there are times I’d rather not have my actions scrutinized. It might be as simple as trying to make sure a gift I’m buying doesn’t show up in my history. Or, I could be fact-checking a Breaking Bad episode. The reality is that we have devices with GPS chips that have near-constant connections to the internet. Simply put, if you want to...

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10 tips for securing your smartphone

This month is National Cyber Security Awareness Month. Each week within October will take on adifferent theme, with this week's being 'Mobile'. So, with that in mind, we thought we'd prepare some tips to help keep your smartphone safe. 1. Always secure your smartphone with a password One of the most basic security tips, but one which is sometimes completely overlooked! Having no access protection at all is just foolish. Swipe patterns are ok, but greasy finger-trails could reveal too much. A four-digit PIN is an improvement but using a strong passcode is the idealphone protection. 2. Ensure that your device locks itself automatically If you set up password-protection on your phone but then leave it unlocked on your desk for 15...

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Google's Android security chief: Don't bother with anti-virus. Is he serious?

Just before the recent Google I/O developer conference, Google's chief security engineer for Android, Adrian Ludwig, told journalists that most users shouldn't bother with anti-virus. Ludwig said "99%" of Android users wouldn't benefit from a mobile anti-virus and declared that the risk from Android malware is "overstated." Moreover, Ludwig accused security software companies of distorting the facts about the exploding volume of Android malware, according to the Sydney Morning Herald's tech reporter Ben Grubb. It's quite a statement coming from someone so high up the food chain - and a security engineer no less - to dismiss the value of anti-virus for the vast majority of users. Ludwig reportedly said: I don't think...

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Malware authors target Android phones - CNET

Researchers report the number of malicious apps available on the Google Play store continues to grow. Your best defense is a security app, a cautious approach to downloads, and a close eye on your bank and credit card statements Most of us do whatever we can to avoid coming into contact with malware. Andrew Brandt spends his workdays attracting the stuff. As Blue Coat Systems Director of Threat Research, Brandt uses a "honey pot" Internet server intended to catch malware purveyors in the act. While Brandt was demonstrating the honey pot to me, I told him it was as if he were living on the edge of a volcano. "It's more like watching a bank of video security cameras focused on a high-crime area," he said. Brandt's surveillance server is completely sandboxed, which allows his team of security...

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