Smartphones are more guilty than computers and laptops in spreading malware, an analysis published by the Nokia Security Center says.
The report noted that 60 percent of the malware activity are in the mobile space. It has also revealed that malware in Apple's iOS is also on a rise and for the first time XcodeGhost and FlexiSpy appeared on top 20 list. Meanwhile, sophistication of Android malware is increasing day by day and in the last six months, number of malware in Android platforms doubled.
The main target of malware continues to be Android platform. Moreover, Android malware are very difficult to uninstall and can even survive a factory reset. In October 2015, iPhone malware came to around 6 percent of total infections.
The study revealed that XcodeGhost malware was injected into apps through a compromised software development kit that was used by Chinese developers to create legitimate apps distributed via the Apple App Store. Apple has removed these apps from the Apple Store, but some malware remains active.
Kevin McNamee, head of the Nokia Threat Intelligence Lab, said, "Security is a very real concern for any device with an IP address, be it Android, iPhone or even a Windows PC connected to the mobile network... We also saw a rise in a variety of ransomware apps that try to extort money by claiming to have encrypted the phone's data."
Nokia report said, the highest risk is device data theft with 29 percent of infected devices, followed by private data theft with 25 percent and short message service spying with 21 percent.
For the second half of 2015, the overall infection rate in mobile networks declined from 0.75 percent to 0.49 percent, due to reduced adware activity on Windows/PCs connected to the internet via the mobile network. In December 2015, 0.3 percent of smartphone devices exhibited signs of malware infection.
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