Smartphone’s have become a mine
of personal information, holding bank data, credit card information and
addresses, making them the preferred target for cybercriminals, experts warn.
“Cybercriminals go where there is
value, and they have understood that the smartphone has become the preferred
terminal for online shopping and payment,” said Tanguy de Coatpont, head of the
French branch of international anti-virus firm Kaspersky Lab at the Mobile
World Congress in Barcelona.
Ransomware, which seizes control
of computers and demands money to unblock users’ data, has already started to
target smart phones.
Now the devices are also
being sought after as a gateway to key information about its user, experts at
the phone industry’s largest annual trade fair said.
Cybercriminals have progressed from smartphone ransomware attacks
to using Trojan Horse malware that can steal the login credentials of mobile
banking users, said Fabien Rech, the head of the French division of Intel
Security.
Using the stolen credentials, thieves can then log in to the
victim’s account remotely and transfer money out.
“We see more and more attacks against banking apps,” said Rech.
There was a 17 percent increase in attacks targeting banking apps
last year around the world, according to Slovakian cybersecurity firm ESET.
A new crop of younger cybercriminals is more at ease with
smartphones, said Russian online security specialist Eugene Kaspersky, the head
of Kaspersky Lab.
“I think that old generation of cybercriminals are on personal
computers, the new are those who are on mobile,” he said.
While most cyberattacks target Android, the widespread smartphone
operating system developed by US Internet giant Google, Apple’s iOS system,
used on iPhones and generally considered more secure, is not immune from attack
either.
“Frauding iOS could be easier because you only have few devices
using it,” said Avishai Shoushen, the head of Israeli mobile advertising
platform ClicksMob.
Since iPhones can be connected to other Apple products, hacking
into the handset can give a cybercrimnal access to the data in other connected
gadgets as well, said Ciaran Bradley, chief technology officer at Irish
security firm Adaptive Mobile.
“Just an email looking like its coming from Apple can give an
opportunity to access personal account information from any other device,” he
said.
– ‘Don’t think
about it ‘ –
Some phonemakers like Australia’s Cog System are developing phones
with extra security features to appeal to consumers who are concerned about
hacking.
The company unveiled in Barcelona the D4 Secure SDK, which it
called “the world’s most secure smartphone”.
Cog Systems, which has for years supplied super secure phones for
governments, is targeting big companies with the device.
Experts say most cyberattacks could be prevented by smartphone
users, who are often not aware that their device could be targeted.
“Consumers think that it is up to manufacturers to handle security
issues, they tend to believe their connected devices are secure and they don’t
think about it once it is open and running,” said Rech.
De Coatpont said proper use of a smartphone was key to preventing
cyberattacks.
“Protecting your mobile phone implies not installing unofficial applications
and regularly updating its operating system when asked to do so. And of course
paying attention to how you manage passwords,” he said
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