Uptick in Insidious and Malicious Attack Types Turns Mobile Device Users Into Cyber Hostages Among Other Manipulations; Sounds Alarm for Both Individuals and Organizations to Strengthen Defenses

/EINPresswire.com/ -- SUNNYVALE, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 10/28/15 -- As mobile devices become more deeply woven into the fabric of our personal and work lives, cyber criminals are taking increasingly vicious and disturbingly personal shots at us, according to the 2015 State of Mobile Malware Report from Blue Coat Systems, Inc., a market leader in enterprise security. Cyber blackmail (mobile ransomware attacks) leads the way as a top malware type in 2015, along with the stealthy insertion of spyware on devices that allows attackers to profile behavior and online habits. The new Blue Coat report, available here, describes the latest trends and vulnerabilities in mobile malware, provides advice for strengthening corporate defenses and educating mobile device users, and offers predictions about the future of mobile threats.

"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, Blue Coat. "The implications of this nefarious activity certainly carry over to corporate IT as organizations rapidly adopt cloud-based, mobile versions of enterprise applications, opening up another avenue for attackers. A holistic and strategic approach to managing risk must extend the perimeter to mobile and cloud environments -- based on a realistic, accurate look at the problem -- and deploy advanced protections that can prioritize and remediate sophisticated, emerging and unknown threats."

Summary of Findings:

• Pornography returned as the number one threat vector after dropping to number two last year.
• The three top types of malware in this year's report are Ransomware, Potentially Unwanted Software (PUS), and Information Leakage.
• The mobile threat landscape is becoming more active.

Get Your Cyber Flu Shot: Top Infection Vectors of 2015

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 Pornography     Porn isn't just back on top -- it's bigger than ever --
                  jumping from 16.55 percent in 2014 to over 36 percent this
                  year. That is, when we see a mobile user's traffic heading
                  to a malicious site, 36 percent of the time that user is
                  following a link from a porn site. To put this in some
                  perspective: when porn led the pack in the 2013 report, it
                  was with a market share of just 22.16 percent.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
3 WebAds          Dropped from almost 20 percent last year (2014) to less
                  than five percent this year. These include both
                  malvertising attacks and sites that host Trojan horse apps
                  designed to appeal to porn site visitors. Blue Coat has
                  also tracked and defined suspicious WebAd networks that
                  are heavily involved in malware, scams, Potentially
                  Unwanted Software (PUS), and other shady activities.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bitcoin Payment Now or Lose Your Smartphone Contents: Top Malware Types of 2015

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 Ransomware      The world of mobile ransomware has grown dramatically over
                  the past year. While some varieties that run on Android
                  devices cause little damage beyond convincing victims to
                  pay the cyber hostage-taker, many have adopted more
                  sophisticated approaches common to ransomware in the
                  Windows environment. 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. These threats render music files, photographs,
                  videos, and other document types unreadable -- while
                  typically demanding an untraceable form of payment such as
                  Bitcoin -- and employing a strict time limit for payment
                  before the files become permanently inaccessible to the
                  owner.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
2 Potentially     Generally, this class of program exhibits behavior typical
  Unwanted        of "adware" or "spyware" -- spying on users' on-line
  Software        activity and personal data -- or serving extra ads. Blue
                  Coat researchers have seen a major shift in the volume of
                  such software in the traditional malware space -- and this
                  is also true of the mobile space -- as the number of junk
                  mobile apps hosted on sites the researchers classify in
                  this category has been rising steadily. This type of
                  mobile app, notable for its dubious utility, frequently
                  finds its way onto a mobile device through the use of
                  deceptive advertising, or other social engineering attacks
                  designed to deceive the victim into installing the
                  unwanted program.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
3 Information     Most people are unaware that apps on their mobile device
  Leakage         may be watching them -- and reporting out -- on a 24x7x365
                  basis. This information leakage is usually a minor drip,
                  showing the version of their phone's operating system, the
                  manufacturer, the specific app or browser being used, and
                  similar information. Complicating matters is the fact that
                  there are typically no included system tools available for
                  users to see or know what data is going out of their
                  devices. Whether on an Android or iOS device, leaky data
                  is often openly revealed in the "User Agent" string.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Future of Mobile Security:

With no signs of slowing down, the market for mobile devices is booming. Anticipating that millions more of these devices will hit the street in the coming years, Blue Coat makes the following observations and predictions about the future of this trend.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 Mobile payment  Mobile payment systems are set to grow, and services
  systems         including contactless payment methods will incorporate
                  additional security features, such as biometrics or two-
                  factor authentication.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
2 Support for     There are already too many mobile devices vulnerable to a
  traditional PC  host of threats in use. These devices will almost
  and mobile      certainly not receive needed OS updates, and that will
  platforms       drive a market in security solutions that can support both
                  traditional PC and mobile platforms.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
3 OTA updates to  Mobile carriers and handset makers are already working on
  vulnerable      plans to fast-track critical OTA updates to vulnerable
  devices         devices, but the work is slow and it may be some time
                  before this segment of the mobile market matures.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

To download the Blue Coat Mobile Malware report, including tips for staying safe and advice for strengthening corporate defenses, please visit: www.bluecoat.com/mobile-malware

About Blue Coat Systems
Blue Coat is a leader in advanced enterprise security, protecting 15,000 organizations every day, including 88 of the 100 largest global companies. Through the Blue Coat Security Platform, Blue Coat unites network, security and cloud, providing customers with maximum protection against advanced threats, while minimizing impact on network performance and enabling cloud applications and services. Blue Coat was acquired by Bain Capital in March 2015. For additional information, please visit www.bluecoat.com.

Blue Coat and the Blue Coat logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of Blue Coat Systems, Inc. or its affiliates in the United States and certain other countries. All other trademarks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners.

Media Contacts

Blue Coat Systems
Maureen O'Connell
maureen.oconnell@bluecoat.com
408-541-3279

PAN Communications
Ariel Burch or Alexandra Henry
bluecoat@pancomm.com
617-502-4300

Legal Disclaimer:

EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.