What to do to Avoid Being Infected With Malicious Code When Using Smartphones?

In the first six months of 2021 alone, Kaspersky detected and prevented 382,578 mobile attacks targeting users in Southeast Asia, up 14% year-on-year.

As the pandemic continues to spread in Southeast Asian countries, many workers are shifting to remote work. This trend ensures health and safety for everyone but creates weaknesses for businesses.

Although BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) has been a trend since before the pandemic, from 2020 as businesses gradually adjust their IT infrastructure to maintain operations. As a business continuity, this trend has grown exponentially and enhanced the role of workers in enterprise cybersecurity.

According to Kaspersky survey results in 2020, more than two-thirds of respondents are using personal devices to work from home. In addition, workers also use their work tools for personal activities such as watching videos and educational content, reading news, and playing video games. 

The most interesting finding is that 33% of 6,017 workers surveyed worldwide last year admitted to using their office devices to view adult content, a type of content that is often targeted by criminals. targeted network.

Mobile malware is malicious software developed to infect mobile devices including phones, tablets, and smartphones. While it’s not yet possible to compare desktop malware in terms of quantity or complexity, experts are discovering a growing number of malicious programs designed to take advantage of the phone’s capabilities.

In the age of remote working, mobile malware not only steals the personal data of individuals but can also be a launchpad for a targeted attack against a user’s organization/business.

Since 2020, in Southeast Asia, Kaspersky’s systems have been monitoring and preventing no less than 100,000 mobile malware attacks per quarter. The highest number of attacks recorded in the first three months of 2021 was 205,995.

The countries with the highest number of detected mobile attacks from January 2020 to June 2021 are Indonesia, respectively, followed by Malaysia and Thailand. Indonesia also ranks 3rd in terms of the number of mobile malware detected in the second quarter of 2021. 1st and 2nd places belong to Russia and Ukraine. India and Turkey take the 4th and 5th places.

Regarding the percentage of users who were attacked by mobile malware, Malaysia ranked first with 4.42% of users targeted in the first half of the year, followed by Thailand (4.26%) and Indonesia (2. 95%). Meanwhile, the Philippines and Vietnam have the lowest rate of influence with the rate of 2.27% and 1.13%.

The three most common mobile threats in Southeast Asia include:

– Trojan: Malicious program that performs actions against the user’s will. This malicious code deletes, intercepts, modifies, or copies data and disrupts the operation of computers or computer networks.

– Trojan-Downloader: This type of malware downloads and installs new versions of malicious programs, including Trojans and AdWare, onto the victim’s computer. Once downloaded from the Internet, these malicious programs are launched or included in the list of programs that automatically run when the operating system boots. 

– Trojan-Dropper: Programs designed to secretly install malicious programs already integrated into their code onto the victim’s computer. This type of malicious program usually saves a bunch of files to the victim’s drive and launches them without any notice (or with a fake message about a compression error, outdated operating system version, etc.)

To ensure safety when working online, Kaspersky has given some advice such as the following:

– Make sure the router supports multiple devices to access at the same time, for example when using video conferencing.

– Regularly update the router to avoid potential security problems.

– Set a strong password for router and WiFi.

– If possible, work only with company-issued equipment.

 Putting business information on personal devices can lead to potential security and confidentiality issues.

– Don’t share your work account details with anyone else, even if you think it’s necessary.

– Always be available to talk to the IT or security team of the business/organization when there is something that concerns or worries you when working from home.

– Comply with the rules to ensure security in cyberspace. use strong passwords for all accounts, don’t open suspicious links from emails and messages, don’t install third-party software, stay vigilant, and use reliable security solutions like Kaspersky Total Security.