Kaspersky Lab detects 500,284,715 Cyber Attacks in Q3 2013

As per the latest report from Kaspersky Lab, it has been revealed that 97.5% of all the attacks on mobile platform target Android OS. The third quarter of 2013 was a turning point for malware writers specializing in mobile platforms.

In the third quarter of 2013, experts discovered the new Svpeng Trojan, capable of gaining access to a victim’s bank account directly from his or her smartphone. In September, they detected the first cases of third-party botnets being used to distribute Trojans.

Viktor Chebyshev, Virus Analyst, Kaspersky Lab, commented, The majority of Android malware is designed to steal money or, as a secondary aim, steal personal data. All the familiar infection, distribution and cover-up mechanisms are swiftly migrating from PCs. To date, cybercriminals are doing all they can to steal as much as possible. Virus writers are likely to keep increasing the number of botnets, infecting more and more Android users.

While cybercriminals working with mobile platforms are developing ever more sophisticated tricks, web-based attacks are still relying on the sheer volume of incidents. Kaspersky products detected a total of 500,284,715 attacks in Q3 2013. Ten countries proved to be home to 81.5% of web resources used to distribute malware, with the USA, Russia and Germany leading the way.

Also in Q3 Kaspersky Lab’s security research analysed an active cyber-espionage campaign, named Kimsuky primarily targeting South Korean think tanks.