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Verizon found Millions of Mobile Devices to be Infected with Malware

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According to a Verizon’s new report, Data Breach Investigations Report 2015, it comes out that “we have got 99 problems, and mobile malware isn’t even less than 1 percent of them.”

Verizon revealed that out of tens of millions of mobile devices, the number of one’s infected with truly malicious exploits was “negligible,” coming in at 0.03%.

It supports Google’s findings in its Android 2014 Security Year in Review, released earlier this month, which disclosed that fewer than 1 percent of Android devices had a “potentially harmful app (PHA)” installed in 2014.

“we stripped away the “low-grade” malware and found that the count of compromised devices was truly negligible. The benefit of working with [Verizon’s] internal team is that we knew how many devices were being monitored. An average of 0.03%  of smartphones per week – out of tens of millions of mobile devices on the Verizon network – were infected with “higher-grade” malicious code. This is an even tinier fraction than the overall 0.68% infection rate (of all types of unwanted software)” according to Kindsight Security Labs’ biannual report.

Verizon has also discovered that the public sector is most at risk, followed by the tech sector, then banking and financial, with retail a close fourth (same as last year).

Accordind to the report, this year, organized crime is being frequently used as threat actor for web app attacks, with financial gain viewed as the most common of the primary motives for attacking.

The majority suffering is end-users. Obviously, mobile malware is both minimal and almost primarily a consumer problem, not an enterprise problem.

Android is crazy vulnerable, but not really being attacked. “Verizon Wireless data shows some 100 smartphones per week were infected, out of tens of millions of devices (mostly Android), for a 0.68% infection rate.”

Verizon’s report has mentioned that among the most infected Androids were hosting apps’ adware and other “annoyance-ware.” Android is the biggest mobile target of them all, as “most of the suspicious activity logged from iOS devices was just failed Android exploits.” The report also stated that targeted malware is king on PCs, rather than on any mobile devices.

CIP Cyber Staff

CIP Cyber Staff

CIP Cyber Staff comprises CIP cybersecurity experts committed to delivering comprehensive information on critical infrastructure protection. The content covers diverse topics, equipping professionals to defend organizations and communities in an ever-evolving cyber landscape.

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