Ransomware Ranked Number One Mobile Malware Threat

The ping pong debate over whether mobile devices have developed into a truly mainstream cyberattack vector gained a little fodder today with a new report out from Blue Coat that claims an uptick in the number of mobile ransomware attacks in 2015.

"As we sleep, exercise, work and shop with our mobile devices, cyber criminals are waiting to take advantage of the data these devices collect, as evidenced by the types of malware and attacks we're seeing," said Dr. Hugh Thompson, CTO and senior vice president for Blue Coat.

The firm reported that mobile ransomware leads the attack types on the mobile front, followed by potentially unwanted software (PUS), and information leakage.

“With the increased performance capabilities of modern smartphones, it was only a matter of time before more advanced cryptographic ransomware, such as SimpleLocker, started showing up on mobile devices,” the report said, explaining that the techniques mirror the behaviors of ransomware proliferating in PC environments.

This report comes close on the heels of a report earlier this month by IDG and Lookout that claims 74 percent of businesses report having experienced a breach as a result of a mobile issue—be it vulnerable apps, malware hidden in apps, insecure WiFi, or apps prone to information leakage.  

According to BlueCoat, the top infection vector this year has by far been pornography, accounting for 36 percent of malicious traffic coming from devices examined by the firm. On the bright side, malvertising attacks against mobile targets appear to be on the decline, dropping by 20 percent in the past year.

Despite growing concern about the potential for disaster should cyber attackers choose to target the mobile ecosystem—particularly as mobile payment goes mainstream—many experts say it's still a tempest in a teapot. Researchers at Damballa earlier this year calculated that based on a study of half of all US mobile traffic, users were 1.3 times more likely to get struck by lightning than be infected by mobile malware. And the experts behind Verizon’s Data Breach Investigation Report at Verizon Enterprise Solutions flat out refute that 74 percent occurrence rate for mobile-related breaches.

Blue Coat does acknowledge Verizon’s thoughts on the matter explaining in the report that “the sky is not falling—but putting on a helmet is a good idea.”