Compromised or malicious adverts are now the main source of mobile malware, according to security firm Blue Coat.
The threat relies on the user's own gullibility to make changes to the security profile of their mobile devices
Researchers from Blue Coat Security Labs found fake anti-virus scams are becoming increasingly prolific on smartphones and tablets, to the extent they are now the main source of infection.
These use social engineering techniques to persuade a user their device is already infected with malware, prompting them to change their security settings in order to cure' it, only for the real embedded malware to use this opportunity to infect.
"The threat relies on the user's own gullibility to follow fairly complex instructions and make changes to the security profile of their mobile devices that are detrimental to their device," the researchers said, in their annual mobile malware report.
The team claimed the increasing number of ads served to mobile users, which now outstrips the number for PCs and laptops, increases the likelihood of malware infection.
"The increased frequency of mobile ads conditions users to see them as normal, which makes users more vulnerable to the attacks that are launched through ads," they said.
The report advises people to avoid clicking on ads while using their mobile devices.
Blue Coat said Android devices were the most commonly targeted a finding backed up by Kaspersky Lab's most recent mobile malware report, published six days before Blue Coat's.
Kaspersky also noted the exponential increase in mobile malware, however its research found the majority of malware was delivered not through advertising but banking apps and websites.
"At the beginning of the year we knew only 67 banking Trojans, but by the end of the year there were already 1,321 unique samples," said Kaspersky's researchers, adding they expect to see this type of malware continue to grow over the course of 2014.
-
Have I Been Pwned owner Troy Hunt’s mailing list compromised in phishing attackTroy Hunt, the security blogger behind data-breach site Have I Been Pwned, has fallen victim to a phishing attack targeting his email subscriber list.
-
LinkedIn has become a prime hunting ground for cyber criminals – here’s what you need to knowNews Cyber criminals are flocking to LinkedIn to conduct social engineering campaigns, research shows.
-
Phishing campaign targets developers with fake CrowdStrike job offersNews Victims are drawn in with the promise of an interview for a junior developer role at CrowdStrike
-
Iranian hackers targeted nuclear expert, ported Windows infection chain to Mac in a weekNews Fresh research demonstrates the sophistication and capability of state-sponsored threat actors to compromise diverse targets
-
Malware being pushed to businesses by search engines remains a pervasive threatNews High-profile malvertising campaigns in recent months have surged
-
CISA: Phishing campaign targeting US federal agencies went undetected for monthsNews Threat actors used legitimate remote access software to maliciously target federal employees
-
Google Ads malvertising campaign prompts questions around Search securityNews A leading security researcher has called into question why Google still allows malware links to top search results
-
Uber hacked via basic smishing attackNews The self-taught hacker impersonated an IT worker to gain an Uber employee's password, obtaining broad access to internal systems and posting taunting messages
