Most malicious programs target the Android platform: study

Java and Symbian-based smartphones less affected, says Kaspersky Security Bulletin 2012

Malware and malicious programmes mostly target the Android platform, according to the recently published Kaspersky Security Bulletin 2012.

As per the bulletin, 99% of newly discovered mobile malicious programs target the Android platform, with a very small amount targeting Java and Symbian-based smartphones.

The study further said that 2012 was the second year to show explosive growth in Android malware.

"From a negligible eight new unique malicious programs in January 2011, the average monthly discovery rate for new Android malware in 2011 went up to more than 800 samples. In 2012, Kaspersky Lab identified an average of 6,300 new mobile malware samples every month," it said.

It added that overall, in 2012, the number of known malicious samples for Android increased by more than eight times.

The majority of Android malware can be divided into three main groups according to functionality.

'SMS Trojans' drain victims' mobile accounts by sending SMS texts to premium-rate numbers. 'Backdoors' provide unauthorised access to a smartphone, making it possible to install other malicious programs or steal personal data. 'Spyware' targets the unauthorised collection of private data, such as address books and passwords (or even personal photos in some cases).

In the first half of 2012, Backdoors, SMS Trojans and Spyware combined accounted for 51% of all newly discovered Android malware.

The bulletin also showed that by far the most dangerous are mobile banking Trojans that often work in conjunction with their desktop counterparts, but they are less widespread.

According to the Kaspersky bulletin, the Android platform allows software installation from untrusted sources. It mentioned that malware on the official Google Play application distribution platform is another trend that started in 2011 and continued in 2012, despite Google’s best efforts to reduce cybercriminal activity.

It mentioned that one of the most unusual examples of mobile malware in 2012 was the 'Find and Call' application that managed to sneak into the Google Play store as well as Apple’s application store.