11.6mn mobile devices at risk of being targeted by hackers

As hackers eye mobile devices for their malware attacks, a new study has found that about 11.6 million devices are vulnerable to putting their owners' personal information at stake.

In a report by Alcatel-Lucent, owners of the infected devices also face risks of bill shock resulting from pirated data usage, and extortion in exchange for device control.

The company said that mobile spyware turned infected smartphones and tablets into cyber-espionage devices that allowed hackers to remotely track location, download contact lists and personal information, intercept and send messages, record conversation and take pictures.

The report said that the security threat to home networks remained constant at 10 percent with traditional 'fixed' malware types starting to make the jump to mobile devices.

The company revealed that mobile malware used by hackers to gain access to devices continues to rise with consumer ultra-broadband usage and it is also used to commit espionage and launch denial of service attacks on businesses and governments.

The report found that mobile malware infections increased 20 percent in 2013, with 4G LTE devices being the most likely to be infected and Android devices accounted for 60 percent of total mobile network infections, while 40 percent mobile malware originated from Windows laptops tethered to a phone.

It was found that infections on iPhone devices and BlackBerry devices made up less than 1 percent.