ID: IRCNE2013031780
Date: 2013-03-09
According to "computerworld", recent reports from antivirus companies seem to suggest that the number of Android malware threats is growing. However, there are still many skeptics who say the extent of the problem is exaggerated.
One of the arguments commonly brought forward by skeptics is that Android malware mostly exists in third-party app stores that are popular in countries like China or Russia. That's not true, Ferguson said.
Trend Micro's mobile app reputation service has analyzed more than 2 million mobile app samples collected from around the world and 293,091 of them have been classified as outright malicious, Ferguson said. Almost 69,000 of those were sourced directly from Google Play, he said.
In addition to apps that pose security and privacy risks, there are many apps that are undesirable for other reasons.
Bogdan Botezatu, a senior e-threat analyst at antivirus vendor Bitdefender, believes that the Android malware threats are not only increasing in number, but are also becoming more diversified. "Mobile malware has developed in a way that is extremely similar to the malware for Windows operating systems," he said Friday via email.
"Since more and more users turn to Android for day-to-day operations, cybercriminals have plethora of reasons to invest in the research and development of mobile-borne threats. Android malware is already in a point where it can inflict real damage to users: banker Trojans, mobile espionage and privacy invasion are only a few of the threats that we deal with on a daily basis. And with mobile devices becoming payment mechanisms -- payment via premium-rate SMS or by tapping into the associated Google Wallet account-- the next generations of Android threats will become even more dangerous."
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