Cybersecurity threats on mobile are increasing says Kaspersky Lab

According to the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission who conducted a recent survey among Malaysians, the percentage of smartphone users has risen to 75.9% of the population in 2017, up from 66.7% in 2016. This also represents a perfect avenue for cybersecurity threats to strike for both companies and individuals alike.

While many users retain their smartphones primarily for personal use, many business concerns rely on mobile devices to sustain their operations be it for inventory, accounting or logistics management purposes; no surprise seeing as the average smartphone is effectively a small computer these days albeit one that can make phone calls and play absurdly distracting games of Candy Crush on.

The increasing reliance on mobile devices, in particular smartphones, for almost all regular aspects of life from paying your bills to keeping in touch with friends and family means that it also becomes the perfect conduit for cyberattacks. According to Kaspersky Lab, Q2 2018 saw more than 1,744,244 million malicious mobile installation packages attempting to infiltrate user devices around the world; this is 421,666 packages more than the previous quarter. Criminals seeking financial gain are also using cybercrime as a means to fund their coffers with 3.2 times more mobile banking Trojan attacks as well as 14,119 more mobile ransomware Trojan attempts detected by the Kaspersky Labs.

“Smart device users need protection for their devices. When you buy a PC or laptop, the first thing most people would do is to install an antivirus solution. However, the same cautious approach does not apply to smart devices like smartphones and tablets. Instead, most would install the physical essentials such as a screen protector or protective case when they purchase their new smart devices,” says Yeo Siang Tiong, General Manager, SEA, Kaspersky Lab. He added, ”As mobile devices become the primary device for more people, identify theft becomes easier, as online banking and in-app e-commerce transactions become more frequent. The need to educate on securing
mobile devices is urgent.” On that note, Kaspersky Labs conducted one of the Malaysia’s largest activation programmes for mobile security solution installations, which was even noted by the Malaysia Book of Records.

Kaspersky Lab offers the full suite of security solutions for PCs, smartphones and for large enterprises alike and their tireless efforts in tackling cybercrime have been recognised worldwide with recent developments including the establishment of a Transparency Centre and the relocation of their core infrastructure to Switzerland. For more details swing by www.kaspersky.com