Android Experiences Unprecedented Growth Of Malware
Google’s Android is said to be undergoing a continuous growth of malware. The number of malicious applications directed specifically at Android has increased now by 472 %, Juniper Networks says. The climax of increase so far has fallen on September to October period.
Juniper particularly reports, “The majority of malicious applications target communications, location, or other personal identifying information. Of the known Android malware samples, 55%, acts in one way or another as spyware. The other major type of attack, which make up 44%, are SMS Trojans, which send SMS messages to premium rate numbers owned by the attacker in the background of a legitimate application, without the person’s knowledge. Once these messages are sent, the money is not recoverable, and the owners of these premium rate numbers are generally anonymous.”
Most of the malware comes from third party websites, and Google says it still has no possibility to completely stop the incoming malware because of the open nature of Android OS. Applications written for the latter are not checked and the source code is open, so that opens the door for malware spread. Interestingly, from thousands of malicious applications, nearly half contain spyware meant to gather personal information from the phone. Two websites are currently under particular focus, mmoovv.com and samsunggalaxy-s.ru, as hosting many applications, which contain viruses, particularly Trojans.
And though Google hasn’t made any announcements concerning this issue, it is a guess that the company is very well aware of what is going on, and will sooner or later bring about a working initiative to stop the spread of malware.
Category: News
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