2010 'will not be year' of mobile malware outbreak

2009-12-17

There will not be any widespread targeting of mobile phones by malware next year, even though some have predicted it, according to PandaLabs, the anti-malware laboratory of Panda Security.

The main reason behind this is because the mobile phone market is considerably more heterogeneous than the homogenous PC platform, according to the company. It noted that applications are sometimes not compatible between operating systems.

PandaLabs hypothesised that if there were only two or three popular platforms and people carried out monetary transactions from their mobiles, then they may be more of a target for cybercriminals.

The firms also predicted that next year the rise of malware will continue, designed almost exclusively for financial gain, and there will be considerably more fake antiviruses, bots and banker Trojans in 2010.

Meanwhile, PandaLabs has said that Mac computers are becoming more attractive to cybercriminals, even though they are not as profitable for them as PCs. Macs are no longer safe from malware, it stated, as online criminals can use it to target the operating systems on the platform.

Events will also be used in internet scams, with social engineering techniques used to infect computers, the organisation claimed. It suggested that there will be significant amounts of malware surrounding the World Cup taking place in South Africa.

Internet users would be well-advised to be wary of any messages related to current affairs and big-name events such as the football competition, PandaLabs added.

Perhaps the upcoming Winter Olympics in Canada will be used by cybercriminals as part of their scamming attempts.

Last month, PandaLabs reported on a fake Facebook web page which was designed to steal passwords from users of the social network. Those firms looking to prevent a data breach may want to watch out for this kind of scheme with employees using such sites during working hours.

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