Kaspersky released its IT threat evolution Q1 2022 mobile statistics report, noting that malware volumes have decreased since late 2020. However, there is a worrying trend the researchers have observed - trojan propagation has observed a spike.

Some stats your way

  • Over 500,000 malicious packages were recorded in Q1 2022. 
  • Unwanted RiskTool apps accounted for 48.75% of all mobile threats, followed by adware (16.92%) and other trojans (14.68%). 
  • Trojan families that affected users the most included Mobtes (44.35%), Piom (32.61%), and Boogr (14.32%).
  • Iran at 35.25% stands as the most impacted country by mobile malware. Adware from the Notifyer and Fyben families posed the most threat. 
  • Iran is followed by China (26.85%) and Yemen (21.23%).
  • Kaspersky identified 53,947 installation packages, a year-on-year increase of 28,633. The spike can be attributed to the Trojan-Banker.AndroidOS.Bray family that accounts for a share of 80.89% of all mobile banking trojans. 
  • In the first quarter of the year, most unique users targeted by mobile financial threats belonged to Spain (1.80%), closely followed by Turkey (1.05%) and Australia (0.57%). 

Why this matters

  • Banking trojans are gaining popularity among threat actors—especially low-skilled ones—as they are available for cheap on Telegram channels and hacking forums.
  • What’s noteworthy about Q1 2022 is the propagation of fraudulent apps via official app stores. 
  • Since last year, scammers are pushing scam apps for receiving social benefits - a scheme that has gained quite a bit of traction.  
  • Several apps were found offering payday loans to users from India and Mexico. These apps belong to the RiskTool category and gain access to the victims’ contact lists, photos, and SMSes. 

The bottom line

While the trends stated above remain unchanged, experts surmise that the upward curve of trojan distribution will continue. Mobile devices often become the weakest link in the security chain, and hence, necessitate proper security measures. Therefore, keep your mobile devices updated, only install trusted apps, read user reviews before making downloading content or apps, avoid downloading apps from third-party sources, and use mobile security solutions. 

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