The executive says the ‘malware’ targeting smartphones is growing rapidly and advises home and business users to protect their devices. One in 10 people who use a terminal of this type has been the victim of a cyberattack.
“The more people use smartphones, the greater the opportunity for cybercriminals business and, therefore, more attacks will be directed to these devices. Cybercriminals are organized as corporations and are governed by purely business” Joan says Taulé, CEO of Symantec, the first security company in the world.
The risk is real. A lack of official data, it is estimated that cybercrime moves over 10,000 million euros a year, more than other criminal activities such as drug trafficking .
Thus, although the PC malware is still significantly heavier (some studies suggest that a connected PC without antivirus takes less than an hour to be infected) attacks aimed at mobile devices are growing more rapidly, as evidenced by a recent report by the company, which owns the Norton antivirus. One in ten smartphone users has been the victim of some kind of cyber attack, according to the report.
However, not all operating systems are created equal. “ Closed platforms are the safest , because there is more control over the apps that are developed” confirms Taulé. This thesis puts the Android operating system, the majority in Spain, in a more “helpless” than iPhone or Windows Phone. However, not all dangers are hiding behind a app . “60% of the legitimate websites are compromised,” confirms executive Symantec, which sells security software for Android, iOS, Windows Phone and BlackBerry OS.
Specifically, apps Free with intrusive advertising have increased 202-12276 per month in recent years. It is also estimated that 3 out of every 10 mobile users receive text messages from strangers as they result from cybercriminals. Overall, mobile malware multiplied by 58 between 2012 and January 2013.
Another clear trend, according Taulé, is the increase in targeted attacks, ie malware created specifically to attack a person or company. In this sense, Symantec has detected a sharp rise of attacks targeting SMEs . “Small and medium enterprises are, as a rule, more vulnerable because they are less socially aware or have fewer resources to invest in security technologies,” explains. “For a cybercriminal, SMEs constitute a link to access the systems of large companies and government institutions,” he says.
Potential risks of infection, is the theft of personal information, identity theft on social networks, access to corporate information and purchasing items over the Internet. “Private users are entering their mobile devices at work, and hackers I know” says Taulé.
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