Mobiles have been a favorite destination for various cyber crimes. Multiple reports over the years have mentioned that cybercriminals have been largely targeting mobile devices. With time these crimes are becoming more and more sophisticated, attacking mobile users on multiple levels. From malware software and spam calls to data breaches and privacy violations, the list of mobile cyber crimes has increased significantly. According to a recent report published by Zscaler, Inc., a cloud security organization, the new and most threatening addition to this list is Play Store apps.
The report titled Zscaler ThreatLabz 2024 Mobile, IoT, and OT Threat report, collected information regarding the mobile, IoT, and OT cyber threats from June 2023 to May 2024. The information in this report is alarming as it suggests the rate of cyber attacks, especially those through mobiles. While the banking malware increased by 29% in the prescribed with over 20 million blocked malicious transactions, mobile spyware skyrocketed by 111%. Moreover, the report suggests that over 200 malicious apps in Google Play were downloaded more than 8 million times. Apart from the rise in mobile malware, TreatLabz has also identified a rapid increase in IoT malware transactions and states that Zscaler blocked 45% more such transactions than last year. All these details are a clear indication of the continued and sophisticated cyber crimes.
Deepen Desai, the Chief Security Officer at Zscaler noted that cyber crimes have developed as an ever-profitable sector for threat actors. The majority of these crimes occur either as direct monetary gain through extortion or through indirect methods like stealing personally identifiable information (PII). Desai also added that most cyber crimes target the legacy exposed assets leading to an increase in data breaches and ransomware attacks. ThreatLabz report has also identified Anatsa as a major threat in cyber crimes. According to the available data, this Android banking malware targeted more than 650 financial institutions in and around Spain, Germany, Finland, Singapore, and South Korea using PDF and QR code readers.
Apart from the financial and banking sectors, cyber crimes have been spread and increased in various sectors including education, manufacturing, and technology. According to reports, the educational sector has witnessed a dramatic increase of 136% in blocked transactions in a period of one year. A slightly different yet similar increase was also seen in the manufacturing sector, showcasing the severity of the situation.
One of the most shocking facts exposed by the Zscaler ThreatLabz report was how these cyber crimes targeted most of the places including the developed and developing countries. The report noted that the US is the favorite destination of these crimes due to its prime role in global communications and data processes. So, almost 81% of IoT cyber attacks have been reported from the US. the other countries with the most number of IoT cyber attacks include:
- Japan
- China
- Singapore
- Germany
While the US is the most targeted destination in IoT traffic, mobile malware targets India the most. The other countries on the list are:
- United States
- Canada
- South Africa
- Netherlands
With cyber-crimes getting more sophisticated and difficult to identify, taking precautions by ensuring IoT and OT connectivity and organizations improving better and secure mobile endpoints, IoT, and OT systems will help reduce these risks.
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