Nokia malware report shows that smartphones pulled ahead of Windows-based computers and laptops, account for 60% of the malware activity observed in the mobile network. The Nokia Threat Intelligence Report also reveals an increase in iOS-based malware, growing sophistication of Android malware and the rising threat of mobile ransomware.
However, due to a decrease in adware activity, the overall infection rate in mobile networks declined from 0.75% to 0.49% on Windows-based PCs connected to the Internet via a mobile network in the second half of 2015. Adware is a software that automatically displays or downloads advertising material (often unwanted) when a user is online.
In the same time period, smartphone infection rates increased and now account for 60% of infections detected in the mobile networks. Android continues to be the main mobile platform targeted, said Nokia.
The report notes that ransomware malwares that effectively holds a device hostage by encrypting data and then locking it such as CryptoLocker has been around for a while on Windows PCs, but 2015 saw several varieties attacking Android as well.
Kevin McNamee, Head of the Nokia Threat Intelligence Lab
We also saw a rise in a variety of ransomware apps that try to extort money by claiming to have encrypted the phone's data. Nokia's security approach reaches into the network to stop malware before getting to the device itself and before damage can occur.
