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Kaspersky Lab reports 61% jump in mobile banking malware

May 30, 2019

Mobile banking Trojans are among the most rapidly developing, flexible and dangerous types of malware, according to Kaspersky Lab, which found a 61% increase in the number of files (from 18,501 to 2,841) of this type of malware between Q4 2018 and Q1 2019.

Banking Trojans grew not only in terms of the number of different samples detected, but also in their share of the threat landscape, the company said in a press release. In Q4 2018, mobile banking Trojans accounted for 1.85% of all mobile malware; in Q1 2019, their share reached 3.24%.

The malware generally looks like a legitimate app, such as a banking application. When a victim tries to reach their genuine bank app, the attackers gain access to that too, the company said.

"The rapid rise of mobile financial malware is a troubling sign, especially since we see how criminals are perfecting their distribution mechanisms," Kaspersky Lab security research Victor Chebyshev said in the release. 

Other online threat statistics from the Q1, 2019 report include: 

• Kaspersky Lab solutions detected and repelled 947,027,517 malicious attacks from online resources in 203 countries.
• Web antivirus components recognized 246,695,333 unique URLs as malicious.
• More than 305,000 user computers registered attempted infections by PC malware meant to steal money via online access to bank accounts.

Kaspersky Lab advised users to take a number of precautions to reduce the risk of infection with banking Trojans:

• Install applications only from trusted sources.
• Check permissions requested by the app — if they do not correspond with the app's task, this could be a sign of an unscrupulous app.
• Do not click on links in spam emails;
• Do not perform the rooting procedure on the device, which creates unlimited opportunities for cybercriminals.