Mobile threats

Despite a strong data encryption, a compromised mobile end point is completely exposed to spying, since threat actors have the same ability to read messages as users themselves. Threat actors don’t need to struggle with encryption algorithms, nor intercept data at the network layer level.

In the third quarter of 2015 Kaspersky Lab solutions detected and repelled a total of 235,415,870 malicious attacks from online resources located all over the world. There were 5,686,755 registered notifications about attempted malware infections that aim to steal money via online access to bank accounts.

The malicious VK Music app not only lets you listen to music but also steals the login details of those using the popular Russian social networking site VKontakte. According to our estimates, the attackers may have stolen the accounts of hundreds of thousands of users.

We analyzed the statistics we had collected from May to August 2015 and identified three main Trojan families that use root privileges on the device to achieve their goals.

In the second quarter of 2015 Kaspersky Lab solutions detected and repelled a total of 379,972,834 malicious attacks from online resources. There were 5,903,377 registered notifications about attempted malware infections aiming at stealing money via online access to bank accounts. Were detected 291,887 new malicious mobile programs.

Presentation content here mostly focuses on technologies used in fighting malware and the general misuse of mobile and computing power for serious criminal activities.

In the first quarter of 2015 Kaspersky Lab products detected a total of 2,2 bln malicious attacks and more than 93 mln unique malicious URLs. The story of the powerful Equation cyberespionage group was perhaps the most talked-about news story of Q1.

Trojan-SMS.AndroidOS.Podec proved to be remarkable: it can send messages to premium-rate numbers employing tools that bypass the Advice of Charge system. It can also subscribe users to premium-rate services while bypassing CAPTCHA.

Last night I got a unexpected SMS in German language on one of my phones. A message from “Lisa”, pretending to know me, including an url luring the reader to a picture of her.

A modern smartphone is a full-blown working tool, an entertainment center and a tool to manage your personal finances. The more it can do, the more attractive it is to cybercriminals. The evidence for this is clear when we look at the rapid growth in the numbers of mobile Trojans.

In 2013 we registered a sudden surge in the number of attacks targeting users’ financial information and money. In 2014, the situation changed considerably: the number of attacks and attacked users significantly decreased, as did the amount of financial phishing.

There is no doubt WhatsApp is among the most popular mobile IMs nowadays – its 700 million users worldwide were eagerly awaiting this week’s promised desktop version.

The end of the year is traditionally a time for reflection – for taking stock of our lives before considering what lies ahead. We’d like to offer our customary retrospective of the key events that shaped the threat landscape in 2014.

This section of the report forms part of the Kaspersky Security Bulletin 2014 and is based on data obtained and processed using Kaspersky Security Network (KSN). Kaspersky Lab products detected and neutralized a total of 6,167,233,068 threats during the reported period.

Next year Kaspersky Lab experts anticipate high-stakes targeted cyber-attacks pinpointing the banks. We expect fraudsters will try to develop new malware that can take cash directly from ATMs. 2015 is also likely to bring even more privacy concerns, security worries about Apple devices and renewed fears about connected devices.