While I was at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona last week, I had to explain a few times to different people why there is a need nowadays to protect your mobile phone. I thought, “why not make a blog out of the topic while I have it fresh?”
I could be telling you how stats show an incredible amount of new malware being written specifically for the Android platform.
I could also mention how it’s becoming easier and easier to create mobile malware by using kits already for sale in the darkest underbelly of the Internet.
I could even say how the computing power of an average smartphone is much higher than that of a regular desktop computer from not so long ago.
The truth is that none of those arguments matter when you think of the crudest fact yet in the mobile malware field: there are cybercriminal groups out there who are looking to benefit from your mobile device and have the means to do it.
Let me state this in a different way: You use your mobile device for more than calling and sending texts; you store sensitive information (think Dropbox, Evernote, your contact list, your email). Cybercriminals have the expertise and the will to profit from your phone. Regular ways of monetizing a phone infection are:
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The most common way to acquire a malicious mobile app is by downloading it from a third party Android app store. Often times the victim thinks that they’re getting a bargain with a (normally paid for) app that’s being offered for free… but the bargain has a hidden and unwanted visitor.
Okay, I’m going to mention stats though I said I wouldn’t. We are seeing thousands of new malicious apps for Android every month. That means that there are a lot of adversaries out there intending to infect your devices. That’s the main reason why you should protect it.
Oh yeah, you might think that staying away from third party app stores might be enough to keep your device clean. Maybe…
Please add your thoughts in the comments below or follow me on Twitter; @dsancho66.
