Mobile Security

Infographic: Veracode on Mobile Security and Protecting Your Device

Veracode have put out another snazzy infographic, this time to help illustrate the mobile computing boom of the last few years. To accompany the BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) policy that’s becoming commonplace in offices around the world, the web security firm uses two characters, Joe Worker and Joe IT to help break down a slew of stats, including details on the rising cost of mobile phone breaches, the dramatic jump in device adoption and 10 tips to protect smartphones and tablets.

New Tactics Helping Toll Fraud Malware on Android Avoid Detection

Malware intent on SMS fraud, also known as toll fraud, has been a constant on mobile platforms, Android in particular, for some time. And FakeInst is definitely king of the hill when it comes to this type of malware. Prevalent in Russia and the rest of Eastern Europe, the malware poses as popular applications, free games or screensaver and once installed, sends premium SMS messages to a service controlled by an attacker. The malware also intercepts messages confirming the charges from wireless providers and ultimately, the user is socked with a massive phone bill while the attacker quietly cashes in. A recent report from Lookout Security said toll fraud malware accounted for 91% of mobile malware and FakeInst malware has netted more than $10 million this year for the attackers behind the malware.

Sandia Lab’s MegaDroid Project Builds Out Massive Android Test Platform

by Michael Mimoso
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It might sound like a security researcher’s worst nightmare to string together 300,000 virtual instances of the Android OS, but for scientists at Sandia National Laboratories, it’s just another day.The Department of Energy-sponsored national security-focused laboratory released the MegaDroid project on Tuesday, a cluster of 300,000 networked virtual machines running Android on commodity hardware. The project gives scientist a massively scaled platform to test anything that could cause a network disruption, including malware or an attack on critical infrastructure.

New Android Malware App Turns Phone into Surveillance Device

by Michael Mimoso
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Mobile malware has largely been limited to Trojans buried inside a malicious app targeting sensitive data stored on the phone such as email, contact information and SMS messages. A new proof-of-concept piece of malicious software, however, expands the scope of mobile malware and essentially turns an Android device into a surveillance tool, bringing a while new range of security and privacy implications into the equation.

Sprint Responds to Developer’s Disclosure of Virgin Mobile Security Shortcoming

by Anne Saita

A Sprint spokeswoman today responded to a software developer’s claim that millions of Virgin Mobile users are vulnerable to attacks due to inadequate authentication mechanisms.In an email sent to Computerworld, Stephanie Vinge Walsh said Virgin Mobile, a subsidiary of Sprint, has multiple safeguards to prevent someone from tampering with users’ accounts.

Facebook tor

How-To Video: Securing Facebook

by Brian Donohue
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Facebook’s active-user count is rapidly approaching one billion. The world’s largest social network, which has long been a popular target and platform for attackers, will only become a more relevant outlet for scams and other fraud as it continues to grow.

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