Abstract
From adults to children, beginners to experts, and in numerous countries around the world, there is a diverse user base for mobile devices. However, the extensive use of mobile devices have also led to the proliferation and attacks of various mobile malware. The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of mobile malware. Subsequently, the paper highlights the current trends and challenges posed by malicious mobile applications. The authors look into Android and iOS mobile platforms and discuss current research to detect malicious applications. Remedy for poor risk communications on Android-based devices are also suggested.
TopBackground
Understanding Mobile Threats
In order to offer a wide indication of threats facing mobile devices, it is first important to understand the objectives, reasons and distribution techniques of potential attacks. In this paper, we adapted a threat model from prior research by Delac, Silic, & Krolo (2011 p. 2-3) and divided into two main components: attack goals and attack paths. This is model is further supported by a similar study in the same year by Leavit (2011 p. 11-13) and has similar descriptions of the main components.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Worms: Worms are self-replicating malicious applications designed to spread autonomously to uninfected systems. ( Delac, Silic, & Krolo 2011 ).
Mobile Malware: (McAfee 2016 AU20: The in-text citation "McAfee 2016" is not in the reference list. Please correct the citation, add the reference to the list, or delete the citation. ) describes Mobile Malware as malicious software specifically aimed at attacking mobile devices.
Ransomware: Ransomware is a type of malware that severely restricts access to a computer, device or file until the user pays a ransom (Kaspersky Securelist, 2015 AU21: The in-text citation "Kaspersky Securelist, 2015" is not in the reference list. Please correct the citation, add the reference to the list, or delete the citation. ).
Botnets: A Botnet is a set of infected devices, which can be ordered and managed remotely by an attacker. Attacks may range from sending spam mail to committing DOS attacks (Leavitt 2011 AU19: The in-text citation "Leavitt 2011" is not in the reference list. Please correct the citation, add the reference to the list, or delete the citation. ).
Trojan: Trojans can be used to collect confidential information or to install other malicious applications like worms or botnets. Trojans can be also used to commit phishing activities. (Sujithra & Padmavathi, 2012 AU22: The in-text citation "Sujithra & Padmavathi, 2012" is not in the reference list. Please correct the citation, add the reference to the list, or delete the citation. ).
Phishing: Phishing as “a type of attack that communicates socially engineered messages to humans via electronic communication channels in order to persuade them to perform certain actions for the attacker’s benefit” ( Bottazzi et al., 2015 ).