Malware goes smart, too
IT security experts’ predictions that 2013 would see an increase in malware designed for mobile phones have come true. Experts say the rise of new and already known mobile malware will continue.
“Expectations have been met; we register a higher amount of modifications of so-far known malware,” Gabriel Braniša, analyst at IT security company ESET, who specialises in malware for Android-based mobile devices, told The Slovak Spectator, adding that the first example of so-called ransomware, i.e. malicious software which blocks a device and requires a ransom to unblock it, has also surfaced.
AVG Technologies has registered an increase in the number of detections in Slovakia as well as globally. When omitting the influence of usage of its anti-virus software, the number of infections detected during one day increased 2-4-times, depending on the location, since the start of this year.
“The growth of malware for mobile devices is, apart from others, brought on by the increasing number of smart phone users, as well as that malware creators see an opportunity here to obtain financial benefits,” Jiří Kropáč, the head of AVG VirusLab, told The Slovak Spectator.
For the full story, please visit The Slovak Spectator.
(Photo: Everson Silva/sxc.hu)
