Malicious Software Is Increasingly Making Its Way Into Mobile Phones

Security researchers say malicious software is making its way into mobile phones, through 'cloned' version of popular apps and software weaknesses in legitimate ones. McAfee labs said in its quarterly threat assessment that weaknesses in app security are becoming a growing problem for owners of mobile devices. In some cases, cybercriminals take advantage of the popularity of an app and create a clone which can extract personal data or even allow an attack to gain control of the device. This was the case with "Flappy Birds" a mobile game which saw a meteoric rise but later withdrawn by its creator. McAfee labs report say," some of the behaviour we found includes making calls without the permission of the user; sending, recording and receiving SMS messages, extracting contact data, and tracking geolocation. In the worst cases, malware gains root access, which allows uninhibited control of anything on the mobile device including confidential business information.