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Mobility Personality
“99% of all mobile threats target Android Devices” Altaf Halde, Managing Director, Kaspersky Lab, South Asia talks about the importance of securing the mobile devices and why it can help you increase your productivity many folds. Q1. What is the importance of securing a mobile device? To d ay, p e o p l e a r e increasingly conducting online lives through mobile devices, be they smartphones or tablets, and while that is a good thing for convenience, it comes with a price. Mobile platforms are being attacked at an alarming rate, and while many of those attacks happen through bad or compromised apps, a lot of it happens through exploitation of mobile web browsers. That applies to all mobile operating systems, but especially to Android devices — attacks on Google’s operating software increased 163% from 2011 to 2012. We are still compiling data from 2013 but we can be almost certain that the rise has been very significant. Much of the problem is that limited screen sizes make it difficult for users to determine when they’re engaged in risky behaviour. That’s particularly true when it comes to figuring out if a site is secure or not, something that’s highly relevant because already more than 20% of online shopping happens on mobile devices and that number is skyrocketing. But the icon of a padlock that pops up on secure pages used for payment information on laptop browsers is not as easy to see in mobile browsers, and that’s if users are actually looking for it, though many do not. www.mobilityindia.com
Q2. So how can someone safely browse the web on your mobile device? 1. Practice app safety. Apps are a popular conduit for malware attacks on mobile platforms, so you must know that any time you download a bad app, your personal data could be at risk. Always download the latest, most secure versions of apps — including those used for browsing the web — and always carefully determine which permissions you allow. 2. Find the lock. Whenever you’re entering a page, that should be secure—if you are inputting personal or financial information—make sure you see the lock icon at the top of the screen indicating that the site is indeed using the mobile SSL protocol that encrypts your data, thereby assuring your safety. If you don’t see it or can’t find it, you’re probably better off waiting until you can get to a laptop or PC. 3. Use mobile security. Security suites aren’t just for your laptop or desktop anymore. Robust security platforms like Kaspersky Mobile Security for Android devices, block dangerous sites and defend against mobile malware. Q3. With banking coming to mobiles and smartphone, is it completely safe today? According to the Kaspersky Consumer Security Risks survey
Altaf Halde
Managing Director Kaspersky Lab, South Asia conducted by B2B International with Kaspersky Lab in the summer of 2013, almost one third of users do not feel safe making e-payments on their smartphones or tablets. They do not trust the reliability of mobile device protection when shopping or banking online. Android is the world’s most popular mobile operating system and therefore is the most frequently attacked one by cybercriminals, which makes sense, since the more users to target, the easier it is for fraudsters to get illegal income. According to Kaspersky Lab, 99% of all the existing mobile malware samples are developed for Android OS. In 2012, the c o mp a ny ’ s ex p e r t s fo u n d 35,000 malware samples for Android. In the first six months of 2013 that number soared to more than 47,000. Fake Android apps for online banking operations, phishing attacks, and malicious attacks developed to intercept the data the user enters via the keyboard are some of the malicious tools that have often been used to attack the owners of Androidbased devices. O n e c a n h a rd l y b l a m e smartphone and tablet owners for being excessively cautious while
using financial services. However, despite the growing number of threats for Android, users can safely make mobile payments by protecting their device with a reliable security solution. In order to prevent users of Android-based devices from falling victim to cybercriminals, including financial fraudsters, Kaspersky Lab has developed Kaspersky Internet Security for Android, an easy-to-use security solution with a variety of protection mechanisms capable of providing high security for mobile device owners. The advanced malware detection technologies incorporated in this solution prevent the installation of spyware which imitates banking applications, even if the program was downloaded from the official Google Play store. The integrated anti-phishing module detects and blocks fake banking, e-store and e-pay pages which fraudsters often use to trick victims into handing over login credentials and account information. Another special function of Kaspersky Internet Security for Android is the ability to check web links received via text messages, protecting users from malicious attacks via mass mailings of short messages often utilized by cybercriminals. Mobility Mar 2014
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