Number of the week: list of malicious Android apps hits 10 million

7 February 2014. By late January 2014 Kaspersky Lab had accumulated about 200,000 unique samples of mobile malware, up 34% from November 2013 – two months earlier over 148,000 samples had been recorded. Cyber-scammers are continuing to focus their attention on Android mobiles: our report found that in January the number of malicious Android apps out there topped the 10 million mark.

On January 30, 2014, the official Google Play market offered 1,103,104  applications. Alternative, unofficial stores have many more – and these are more likely to be malicious. Kaspersky Lab has now logged 10 million dubious apps, as cybercriminals use also legitimate Android software to carry their malicious code.

In most cases malicious programs target the user’s financial information. This was the case, for example, with the mobile version of Carberp Trojan that originated in Russia. It steals user credentials as they are sent to a bank server. According to Kaspersky Lab experts, the majority of malicious Android applications are currently developed in Russia.

To avoid malicious infection, users are advised to follow these expert recommendations:
• Do not activate the “developer mode” on the device
• Do not activate the “Install applications from third-party sources” option
• Only install applications from official channels
• When installing new apps, carefully study which rights they request
• Use protection software