Mobile Trojan on the rise
The recent threat landscape research released by Fortinet revealed that there was an increase in Android adware for the last three months. Android/NewyearL and Android/Plankton were the Android adware detected by FortiGuard Labs researchers which will embed a common toolset for unwanted advertisements displayed on the mobile’s status bar, user tracking through their International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number and dropping of icons on the device’s desktop.
“The surge in Android adware can most likely be attributed to users installing on their mobile devices legitimate applications that contain the embedded adware code. It suggests that someone or some group is making money, most likely from rogue advertising affiliate programs,” said Guillaume Lovet, senior manager of Fortinet’s FortiGuard Labs Threat Response Team.
The adware can be avoided if the mobile users only to download highly rated application as well as to pay close attention to the rights asked by the application at the point of installation, FortiGuard Labs advised.
A banking Trojan Zitmo (or Zeus-in-the-mobile) was discovered by FortiGuard Labs researchers and it is suspected has been spread wildly in Asia and Europe. Zitmo will enable cybercriminals to intercept SMS code generated by two-factor authentication system for accessing banking account illegally. Two-factor authentication is generally using SMS code as the second authentication factor to confirm a transaction. For such prevention, the mobile phone users are advised to install an antivirus client on their mobile devices and computers with the latest patches.
by Alice Lee
