Internet security firm Sophos has launched its first Mobile Security Threat Report, which showed that the mobile revolution is clearly in effect, and as a result, mobile malware is on the rise.
The massive growth in Android devices, and the largely unregulated Android app market, has produced a sharp rise in malware targeting that platform.
In the past 12 months, mobile malware seen by SophosLabs has increased six-fold to well over 650,000 individual pieces of malware for Android — a tiny fraction of the number of pieces of malware out there for the traditional PC, but the fastest growing threat landscape.
The report also showed that in some countries such as Russia, Austria, and Sweden, mobile malware has overtaken desktop malware, while in others — Spain and Great Britain, the playing field is leveling out.
Russia, India, Austria, Spain, and China all have high mobile threat exposure levels.
The report also detailed the types of mobile-specific malware and provided insights into how hackers target and profit from compromised devices. It includes near-term predictions and concludes with 10 tips to preventing mobile malware.
