Malware targeting Android triples in second quarter

The amount of malware targeting the Android platform almost tripled in the second quarter compared with the first quarter of 2012, according to Kaspersky Lab.

Close to 15,000 new Android malware programs were identified by Kaspersky Lab, according to its second quarter report on IT threat evolution.

Nearly half of these programs were multifunctional trojans that steal data from the Android phones and are also capable of downloading additional modules from servers run by attackers, according to the report.

A quarter of the detected Android malware consisted of texting trojans that steal money from victims’ accounts by sending text messages to premium-rate numbers without the victim’s knowledge or consent.

A few years ago, these programs could be only found in the former Soviet Union, Southeast Asia, and China; today, they are found in 47 countries, according to Kaspersky Lab.

Around 18% of Android malware detected in the second quarter are backdoors that give attackers the ability to gain full control over an infected device. These programs are used to build botnets using mobile devices as bots.

Only 2% of Android threats are trojan spy programs, but they pose the greatest threat to users. These programs are on the hunt for the most valuable data that give malicious users access to bank accounts, explained Kaspersky Lab.