An estimated 16 million mobile devices worldwide have been infected by malware, according to a new study from Alcatel-Lucent’s Motive Security Labs.
The Motive Security Labs report – which looked at all popular mobile device platforms – found that such malware infections in mobile devices increased 25% in 2014, compared to a 20% increase in 2013. Android devices have now caught up with Windows laptops, which had been the primary workhorse of cybercrime, with infection rates between Android and Windows devices split 50/50 in 2014. While less than 1% of infections come from iPhone and Blackberry smartphones, new vulnerabilities emerged last year to show they are not immune to malware threats.
Some highlights of the Motive Security Lab:
- The mobile infection rate in 2014 is 0.68%. Based on this Alcatel-Lucent estimates that worldwide, about 16 million mobile devices are infected by malware.
- Mobile malware is increasing in sophistication with more robust command and control protocols
- Mobile spyware, used to spy on a phone’s owner, is also on the increase. It tracks the phone’s location, monitors ingoing and outgoing calls, text messages, e-mail and tracks web browsing.
- The overall monthly infection rate in residential fixed broadband networks is just under 14%. This is up substantially from the 9% seen in 2013. This is mostly attributable to an increase in infections by moderate threat level adware.
- High-level threats such as ‘bots’, ‘rootkits’, and ‘banking trojans’ remain steady at around 5%.
- The Motive Security Labs report also noted in 2014 an increase in Distributed Denial of Service (DDOS) attacks using network infrastructure components such as home routers, DSL modems, cable modems, mobile WiFi™ hotspots, DNS servers and NTP servers. Additionally, the first DDOS attacks launched from mobile phones took place, suggesting how so-called ‘hactivism’ movements against the mobile infrastructure might be launched in the future.
“With malware attacks on devices steadily rising with consumer ultra-broadband usage, the impact on customer experience becomes a primary concern for service providers,” said Patrick Tan, General Manager of Network Intelligence at Alcatel-Lucent. “As a result, we’re seeing more operators take a proactive approach to this problem by providing services that alert subscribers to malware on their devices along with self-help instructions for removing it.”