Mobile device infections hit 96% in H1

• Smartphones get largest share

Nokia, through its ‘Threat Intelligence Report – H1 2016,’ has revealed a sharp rise in the occurrence of Smartphone malware infections in the first half of the year. Issued twice per year, the report examined general trends and statistics for malware infections in devices connected through mobile and fixed networks. 

According to the report, smartphone infections nearly doubled between January and July, compared to the latter half of 2015, with smartphones accounting for 78 percent of all mobile network infections.

The malware infection rate hit an all-time high in April, with infections striking 1.06 per cent of all mobile devices tracked. In addition, devices based on the Android operating system were the most targeted mobile platform by far, representing 74 per cent of all mobile malware infections. 

The report also highlighted the emergence of new, more sophisticated malware that can be more difficult to detect and remove. Head of the Nokia Threat Intelligence Lab, Kevin McNamee, said: “Today attackers are targeting a broader range of applications and platforms, including popular mobile games and new IoT devices, and developing more sophisticated and destructive forms of malware. Nokia’s network-based security solution is the best approach to address this growing threat to all types of devices. It detects and prevents malware activity that device-based solutions may miss.” 

Key findings of the latest Nokia Threat Intelligence Report include: 96 per cent surge in smartphone infections in the first half of 2016, compared to the second half of 2015 (0.49 per cent vs 0.25 percent); in April 2016, mobile infections hit an all-time high, with 1.06 per cent of devices infected by a range of malware, including ransomware, spyphone applications, SMS Trojans, personal information theft and aggressive adware. 

According to the report, one out of 120 smartphones were infected. In April, one out of every 120 smartphones had some type of malware infection; Android smartphones were the most targeted mobile platform, accounting for 74 per cent of all malware infections compared to Window/PC systems (22 per cent), and other platforms, including iOS devices (four percent).  The number of infected Android apps in Nokia’s malware database soared 75 per cent, from 5.1 million in December 2015 to 8.9 million in July 2016.