4 Recent Threats to Your Mobile Device That You Need To Know
When the apps and system on your device start behaving strangely or there is unexplained data usage, then your device has been compromised. In a recent study, less than 40% of the population with smart mobile devices secures their mobile devices, and the remaining 60% is a cyber attacker’s wet dream. Here are four recent threats to your mobile device that you need to know.
Mobile Botnets
They are some of the latest developments in mobile security threats, and new age malware can turn your device into one of the many bots on a botnet. Hackers can then control the device without your knowledge. Since the emergence of Viking Horde, a botnet targeting Android devices in 2016, there have been over a dozen more botnets that malware researchers have been able to identify.
Internet of Things (IoT)
Despite the technology being in its infancy stage, it has not deterred mobile malware from exploiting it. A majority of the IoT families use variations of the same code and hackers are exploiting the weakness in the code to affect a large number of mobile devices. Since mobile devices are at the heart of the IoT technology, hackers are using them to access sensitive data, and IoT is the avenue with the least resistance.
Ransomware
You might have heard of Wannacry and other ransomware programs that affect computers. However, there are ransomware programs that affect mobile devices, and with an internet connection, you are not safe. Studies show that the number of ransomware attacks increased by 11.5% between April 2016 and March 2017, according to Kaspersky Lab. Dead apps are one of the means that you can download a ransomware program by clicking on a link sent by hackers purporting that you are doing an upgrade to the app.
Ad and Click Fraud
Cybercriminals are sending text messages with an embedded link. Clicking on the link automatically downloads an app giving the hackers a hall pass to control your device remotely at will, steal your credentials, as well as gain access to your internal network, such as Wi-Fi. It starts like adware, but the hackers can develop spyware programs, attach it to the adware app, and spread it through the entire botnet.
In conclusion, the only way you can protect your device from the above and more threats by installing and regularly updating the security software. Reduce risk by being aware of your behavior since it is the biggest predisposing factor to the security threats on your mobile device.
