Kaspersky Lab: In the first quarter of 2014, spammers began to mimic messages from mobile apps. Particular preference was shown in popular mobile messengers such as WhatsApp, Viber and Google Hangouts. Specifically, notices that were supposed to come from these apps were used to spread malicious programs, as well as harmless ads. The growing popularity of mobile devices means that phishing attacks targeting users' Apple IDs are becoming more common.
Many mobile device owners are familiar with synchronizing their contacts and receiving messages from mobile apps via email. So few would suspect the fact that WhatsApp is not directly linked to an email service. However, this omission could be expensive, since the attachment of an email contained the infamous Backdoor.Win32.Androm.bjkd. The primary function of this malicious program is to steal personal data from users.
"We have recently seen an increase in the number of attacks targeting mobile device users. Gadgets have become popular even among those who have not had much contact with computers and are less familiar with their security. This creates new attackers for spammers and phishers. To protect them, users should remember not to open emails from unknown senders and especially not to click on any link contained in these emails, as they inevitably endanger their security. "By 'clicking' on an unsafe link, users are threatening their security, no matter what device they use - be it desktops or laptops," said Darya Gudkova, Head of Content Analysis & Research at Kaspersky Lab.
Where is spam directed?
Changes have been made to the list of countries most often targeted by malicious email over the last quarter of 2013. The United States (14%) increased by 3,68 percentage points, while the United Kingdom (9,9%) and Germany (9,6%) declined by 2,27 and 1,34 percentage points, respectively. Thus, the US, ranked third in this ranking in the previous quarter, returned to the top in the first quarter of 2014.
Which countries came from spam?
No change has been made this quarter in the countries with the largest volume of spam. The first in the list was China (with a drop of 0,34 percentage points) followed by the US (with 1,23 percentage increase) and South Korea (with a decrease of 0,91 percentage points).
Phishing
Email accounts and search gates were the most popular phishers targets (36,6% of all attacks). In the second place, social media with 26% were found, followed by financial institutions, electronic payment institutions and banks (14,7%).
Malicious attachments to e-mail
The main purpose of most malware programs that are trafficked via email is to steal confidential data. However, in the first quarter of 2014, malware was also popular with spyware and DDoS attacks. Most of the popular malware programs are now multifunctional: they can steal data from the victim's computer, make a computer part of a botnet, or download and install other malware without the user knowing it.
Spam spamming
Spam messages reached 66,34% of all emails that were trafficked in the first quarter of 2014, having dropped 6,42 percentage points over the previous quarter. However, compared to the corresponding period of 2013, the percentage of spam in the first quarter of 2014 showed little change as it was reduced by only 0,16 percentage points.
The full version of the spam report for the first quarter of 2014 is available at the email address securelist.com
Users can also see real-time threat information through Kaspersky Lab's online map (Cyberthreat real-time map).
George is still wondering what he is doing here….
