Android users warned of possible attacks

Those who use their Android mobile devices daily for personal and business purposes might consider purchasing a mobile device management or security system after learning that a Vancouver-based security expert recently told the Vancouver Sun that 2012 could be a tumultuous year for users who might face malicious hacker attacks.

Security expert Derek Manky said that the growing popularity of Android mobile devices is making the platform more susceptible to a possible malware attack, and that users need to be prepared.

“[Android phones hold] over 50 percent of global market share," Manky said. "Targets will follow the market - that’s why we see so many PC-based threats [relative to Apple]. We saw an 83 percent increase in mobile malware from 2010 to 2011."

Manky added that on PCs, users download viruses without knowing it, just by visiting a website on their browsers, which he says is likely to start happening on phones. With Americans using their smartphones and other mobile devices for the functions that were only possible to do on a computer several years ago, hackers look at mobile devices as a open market that hasn't been tapped yet.

In the past, service slowdowns were the biggest problems for mobile device users, according to the source. Malicious software forced users to repeatedly dial pay-by-the-minute premium phone numbers, which wasn't discovered until the victims received their phone bills.

Currently, hacked phones are aggregated into robot networks that can monitor private activities that users might carry out on a daily basis, including bank log-in codes, text messages or emails. The initial issue occurs when smartphone users receive a text with a link attached from a person who appears to be a contact in their phone. When the person clicks on the link, a virus may be the result.

"The security demand is getting to the point now that all the data breaches you are hearing about are causing millions of dollars in damages, so companies are starting to open up more budget for security now,” Manky said. “We have systems in here that need to scan through almost 100 million different files, four times a day, to verify that we’re detecting everything that we should be and that we’re not detecting anything we shouldn’t be.”

Considering 88 percent of respondents to a survey conducted by a leading technology solutions company said they use computing devices for business purposes, companies should protect themselves for any of the malware attacks that are currently being predicted by experts.