Mobile Botnets Taking over Smartphones: Very Dangerous !!!

Smartphones are mini laptops. We use them for talking to friends and family, banking, shopping and socializing online everywhere we go. We love them. No question about that! But our love for these precious devices makes cybercriminals love them too. Maybe even more. Why? Because smartphones open up great opportunities for them to take over our lives. And mobile bots (short for robot) make their job so much easier.

MOBILE BOTS :The Next Evolution of Bad Bots" during the research with six major cellular carriers during a 45-day period. We found that 15.8% of those devices hosted bots used to attack websites and apps – which works out to 15.8 million devices humming away with activity that their owners know nothing about.

Mobile bots act just like computer bots. If your smartphone is not protected by a mobile antivirus, it can get infected with a bot malware, added to a botnet and controlled by a BOTMASTER from a far. As scary as all this may sound, getting to know the problem in detail makes it easier to find a solution for it. So, what are mobile bots, botnets and BOTMASTERS? See below.

Mobile Bots & Botnets

A mobile bot is a type of malware that runs automatically once installed on a mobile device without mobile antivirus software. It gains complete access to the device and its contents and starts communicating with and receiving instructions from one or more command and control servers. Every smartphone infected is added to a network of mobile bots (mobile botnet) managed by a cybercriminal called the BOTMASTER.

The first mobile bot-infections were discovered at the beginning of 2011 with the attacks of Droid-Dream and Geimini – both trojanized game apps with bot-like capabilities that compromised Android devices. There have also been mobile botnet attacks targeted at Android phones iPhones (SMS attacks), Blackberry and Symbian devices. So, no matter the operating system your smartphone runs on, the "traditional" use of botnets is as an engine for distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks or spam campaigns. These mobile bots, though, seem to be focused on a different sort of attack. All these precedents are strong cases for mobile a unique mobile protection system.

How Can Bots Get to Smartphones?

Mobile bot infections can be spread via viruses, worms and Trojans with bot capabilities:

sent by e-mail embedded in seemingly legit apps – even malicious apps that pose as mobile antivirus programs – that you download embedded in websites that you visit while surfing the web in “drive-by” downloads

Over the course of weeks, thousands of smartphones can get infected and added to the mobile botnet.

What can you expect from a bot infection?

If your smartphone doesn’t have proper mobile protection, it can easily become a part of a botnet. Let’s assume it has. What can a BOTMASTER do now?

Disrupt or deny access to networks Steal credit card details, usernames, passwords etc.

Send SMSs to premium numbers or block incoming SMSs Copy SMSs and the contact list stored on your smartphone to a server Install/remove an application Dial a certain phone number Open a web page that’s either malicious or filled with ads

In short, send orders to your smartphone from anywhere, anytime to make some money exploiting it.

Some BOTMASTERS want more than a couple of mobile user’s data. After organizing an army of bots, meaning thousands of infected smartphones, they can launch an attack over an entire mobile network.

Users are tricked into installing malware that gains root access. Devices that are infected with malware become enslaved into a global botnet. From there, an attacker controls the actions of the device through a command and control system where they can send a number of attack commands to the devices so they will perform the specified action.

Don’t want your smartphone to be part of a mobile bot? Here are some tips :

Only download apps from trusted and reputable app stores.

Be careful with the e-mails you receive – they may contain malicious attachments or links.

Look at the sender’s name and if it looks suspicious, ignore the message. Also, make sure you have mobile protection to block cyber-attack coming via e-mails.

If you spot unusual behaviour on your phone like your battery suddenly running low, sudden disconnections from networks or services etc., it may be a sign of a bot infection.

Check your bill regularly several times a month – if you see any unusual phone calls or SMSs sent without your consent, contact your phone network.

Whether you use your phone for surfing the web or socializing online, there’s always a chance you run into a link to a malicious website.

Open Bluetooth connections are also open doors to bots and other malware. Truth is, your mobile security is always at risk without proper mobile protection.

beMOBILE is an effective mobile security program that fends off mobile malware, and protects you from bot infections, spyware, phishing scams and many other mobile threats licking hacking and taping.