- The number of malware -samples targeting Android is rising, experts warn
- The majority are Banking Strojans and Infostealers
- Kaspersky encourages users to be careful when they download apps
Mobile Malware and other attacks targeting Android users are increasing, new research has claimed.
Kaspersky security researchers have claimed that people should be much more aware of the security of their smartphones than they currently do.
In his “IT threat development in Q1 2025: Mobile Statistics” report, Kaspersky claims that the number of detected malware samples increased by more than one neighborhood (27%) between Q1 2025 and Q4 2024 when researchers discovered 180,000 malware samples.
Triada and Turkey
These samples were blocked on more than 12 million smartphone users (up 36% compared to Q4 2024), Kaspersky added, stressing that the upward trend in affected users “continued since Q3 2024”.
While there are several factors contributing to the growth of Android-based malware, Kaspersky suggests that the largest is the activity of certain malware families operating in certain geographies. The researchers appointed Mamont Banking Trojan as rather active “in the last months” and stole banking, text messages and personal data.
They also mentioned the Triada rear door, which was installed on RIP-offs of popular smartphone brands. They were part of a supply chain attack when they were installed on brand new phones, some time between the devices leaving the factory and reaching the market.
“Triada can change the cryptocurrency of the book addresses during transfer experiments, replace links in browsers, send arbitrary text messages, and listen to answers and steal login credentials for messaging and apps on social media,” Kaspersky explained.
Finally, the researcher said a number of bank faiths targeted people in Turkey, including COPER (equipped with rat features), Browbot, Hqwar and Agent.SM.
“Users may mistakenly believe that their smartphones themselves are safer than PCS, but the reality is that mobile malware, like the sophisticated Trojans we explored in recent months, are increasingly active,” commented Anton Kivva, Malware analyst -Team leader at Kaspersky.
“The misunderstanding of standard protection stems from allegedly curated app stores and operating system restrictions, but social technical tactics and modern mobile malware, including pre -installed mobile Trojans, utilizing these false securities.”
To stay in safety, Kaspersky users only recommend download apps from official app stores, but only after checking app reviews and download counts. Even when apps are downloaded, users need to check the permissions they ask for and make sure to update us and important apps as soon as the updates are available.
