Mobile Malware Cyberattacks Rise to 500% on the First Few Months of 2022 | Here's How to Stay Protected Against Them

The unusual increase in the number of mobile malware cyberattacks continues to escalate in the first few months of 2022.

According to the researchers, a 500% surge in incidents might ramp up as we move along. Of course, this is alarming to everyone since they could put their information at risk of being stolen if safety precautions are not applied to mitigate these attacks.

Smartphone Malware Cases Continue to Increase

According to a report from Proofpoint researchers, the malware attacks on mobile users displayed "significant" peaks during the start and the ending of February 2022.

Usually, the cybercriminals behind these attacks have a common goal to achieve: stealing confidential information from the users. These include bank account details, email addresses, passwords, and usernames.

Furthermore, they could also access the device through remote code execution. It's quite disturbing to think that our smartphones could be an outlet of privacy invasion from unknown hackers.

They could easily track our location and even remove the important files on our devices without our knowing. Since cybersecurity researchers improved their preventive steps, the hackers also revamped their techniques in return.

Android Smartphones Are the Common Victims

In an article written by ZDNET on Wednesday, March 9, the most common target of cybercriminals is the Android marketplace.

The Google PlayStore serves as a channel to conduct the attacks since its OS is subject to severe vulnerability because of the third-party apps.

Usually, Android users could encounter phishing attacks on the platform wherein they will receive a malicious link that contains malware.

Once the users click a link, they will be directed to a fake website where they will enter their credentials. This is crucial information that everyone should take note of since doing so could make you lose your personal data.

Since many individuals transitioned to a work-from-home setup, the attackers took the opportunity to spend more time online and launch their schemes. One notable malware dubbed "FluBot" is a great nuisance for smartphone owners.

This malware attacks the device by sending texts to a recipient. Once you click it, it will be spread to other users, and the cycle goes on repeat until it spreads further.

Proofpoint also mentioned the SMS-based malware Moghau which can deceive the victims into downloading a dangerous security threat. The banking trojan will act as a "fake" landing page based on the user's location.

In another report, Google banned a bogus antivirus app on the Play Store. Apparently, it's a walking danger for users since it contains Sharkbot malware, which could take away sensitive details from them.

How to Stay Protected From Mobile Malware Attacks

Proofpoint researchers shared that consumers should not click any strange messages from untrusted sources. Sometimes, this could point you out as a "future scammer," according to VP of Cloudmark operations Jacinta Tobin.

Instead of clicking any SMS, the experts urged the users to forward them to a spam-reporting service through 7726. This will now remove the suspicious text on your device.

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Joseph Henry