The IT Melting Pot!

Malware attacks on devices running Google’s (NASDAQ:GOOG) open-source Android mobile operating system more than doubled in 2012, security solutions firm NQ Mobile reports.

NQ Mobile saw a year-over-year increase of malware of 163 percent.

NQ Mobile discovered 65,227 new pieces of mobile malware in 2012 compared to 24,794 in 2011, a year-over-year increase of 163 percent. Among all new malware discovered last year, 94.8 percent of threats were designed to attack Android, compared to just 4 percent targeting rival open-source platform Symbian. In all, more than 32.8 million Android devices were infected in 2012, up from 10.8 million in 2011, representing an increase of more than 200 percent.

Chinese devices accounted for 25.5 percent of infected Android devices, followed by India (19.4 percent), Russia (17.9 percent), the United States (9.8 percent) and Saudi Arabia (9.6 percent). Fifty-three percent of U.S. Android owners have installed a mobile security app on their device, NQ Mobile adds.

Sixty-five percent of mobile malware discovered in 2012 falls into the category of Potentially Unwanted Programs–e.g., root exploits, spyware, pervasive adware and Trojans (surveillance hacks). Twenty-eight percent was designed to collect and profit from a user’s personal data, and 7 percent was built to prevent the user’s device from functioning properly.

The primary methods for delivering malware in 2012 included App Repackaging (adding lines of malicious code into a legitimate app and reloading it onto a third-party marketplace), Smishing (asking consumers to click on a fraudulent link, triggering a malicious app download or directing their browser to a rogue website) and Malicious URLs (redirecting the browser from genuine websites to clone sites intended to collect personal data).

Critics maintain Google has failed to sufficiently police its Google Play digital storefront, making it easy for attackers to distribute malware via Android applications. Google has made strides to reduce Android threats, however: In early 2012, it unveiled Bouncer, which scans Google Play for malicious apps, and its Android 4.2 OS update, a.k.a. Jelly Bean, bakes in application verification tools.

The NQ Mobile report…

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//Richard