India second in world in malware threat: Study
   Date :04-Nov-2019
 
By Kaushik Bhattacharya :
 
Increasing demand of mobile phones in India has also raised the malware threat drastically. India is second in the world after United States of America (USA) which has the highest percentage of malware threat, revealed Internet Security Threat Report 2019 issued by Symantec Corporation, a USA based company recently. India second in the list with 23.6 per cent while USA is on top with 24.7 per cent. Whereas, the other countries have the overall percentage of 31.3 per cent.
 
There are 37.48 crore people in India using mobiles and the number is increasing day by day. As per the report, one in every 36 mobile devices having high risk applications. Whereas, the top malicious mobile application categories are Tools (39.1 per cent), Lifestyle (14.9), Entertainment (7.3), Social and Communication (6.2), Music and Audio (4.3), Puzzle Games (4.2), Photos and Videos (4.2), Arcade and Action Games (4.1), Books (3.2) and Educational Material (2.6). “Lack of proper education and awareness about malware threats among people in India is the biggest reason behind increasing cyber crime in the country,” said cyber expert Adv Mahendra Limaye to The Hitavada.
 
Adv Limaye said, “Government had implemented digitalisation but they failed to make people aware about it. Government should aware people about threats through technologies and adopt an education system in this regard.” While the overall number of mobile malware infections fell during 2018, there was a rapid increase in the number of ransomware infections on mobile devicesin all over the world including India. Four African countries made the list in terms of top 10 countries by share of users attacked by mobile malware – Nigeria in third place at 37.72 per cent, Algeria in fifth place (35.06 per cent), Tanzania in eighth place (31.34 per cent) and Kenya in ninth place with 29.72 per cent.
 
Researchers have seen the number of attacks using malicious mobile software nearly double in just a year. In 2018 there were 116.5 million attacks, compared to 66.4 million in 2017. “Malware is all about to grab data which is a lucrative crime now a days. Ignorance by mobile users makes it easy for criminals to earn money with small efforts,” said Adv Limaye. As the world becomes more mobile, the role of smartphones in business processes and day to day life is growing rapidly. In response, cybercriminals are paying more attention to how they are distributing malware and the attack vectors used. Mobile users should take some measures while using their smartphones which can curb cybercrime in the era of technology.
 
 
Top malicious Mobile app categories
Category Percentage
Tools 39.1
Lifestyle 14.9
Entertainment 7.3
Social and
Communication 6.2
Music and Audio 4.3
Puzzle Games 4.2
Photo and Video 4.2
Arcade and
Action Games 4.1
Books and
References 3.2
Education 2.6
 
Protect your device
Only install mobile applications from official application stores, such as Google Play on Android devices or the App Store on iOS.
 
Block the installation of programmes from unknown sources in your smartphone’s settings.
 
Do not bypass device restrictions as this might provide cybercriminals with limitless capabilities to carry out their attacks.
 
Install system and application updates as soon as they are available — they patch vulnerabilities and keep devices protected.