Alcatel-Lucent’s Kindsight subsidiary has released figures that show an increase in malicious software (malware) used by hackers to gain access to devices for corporate espionage, spying on individuals, theft of personal information, generating spam, denial of service attacks on business and governments and millions of dollars in fraudulent banking and advertising scams.
Alcatel-Lucent says it is in a unique position to analyse such threats due to the many network security and analytic products it has within service provider networks. Its widespread presence enables it to measure the impact of traffic types traversing the network, including malicious and cyber-security threats.
The latest Kindsight Security Labs Malware Quarterly Report found that 10% of home networks and over 0.5% of mobile devices were infected with malware, both increases from the previous quarter.
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Other highlights of the report include:
- 6% of home networks exhibited high-level threats, such as ‘bots’, ‘rootkits’ and ‘Trojan’ banking viruses – all types of malware infecting computers, computer programs and applications running on computers.
- The ZeroAccess botnet continues to be the most common malware threat, infecting 0.8% of broadband users.
- In mobile networks, the vast majority of infected devices are either Android phones or Windows laptops tethered to a phone or connected directly through a mobile USB stick or WiFi hub.
- Mobile malware continues to grow, with a sixfold increase in the number of Android malware samples.
“Malware and cybersecurity threats continue to be a growing problem for home networks and mobile devices, particularly for Android smartphones and tablets which are increasingly targeted,” said Kevin McNamee, security architect and director of Alcatel-Lucent’s Kindsight Security Labs.
“Users often don’t take the appropriate security precautions for their mobile devices, and even when they do a malicious app can easily evade detection by device-based anti-virus.”
The report also includes the top 20 home network infections and Internet threats, as well as analysis of malware developments, including ZeroAccess, Alureon, the Zeus banking Trojan, Uapush, QDPlugin, and others.
The Kindsight Security Labs report also includes information on the rise of mobile spyware as a threat to the BYOD (bring your own device) trend in workplaces. To demonstrate how a smartphone can become a cyber-espionage device, McNamee said Kindsight has developed a proof-of-concept spy-phone software module that can be injected into just about any Android application. From a remote web based command centre the attacker can:
- Track the phone’s location
- Download contact lists and personal information
- Intercept and send messages
- Record conversations
- Take pictures
“A third of the top 15 security threats are now spyware related, up from only two spyware instances the last quarter,” said McNamee. “MobileSpy and FlexiSpy were already in the top 15 list, but SpyBubble moved up to take the 4th spot, while SpyMob and PhoneRecon appeared for the first time, ranking 5th and 7th respectively.
“Until now mobile spyware has been aimed at the consumer market, with the promise of being able to track your loved one’s every move through their phone. But locating teenagers and a straying spouse are only one part of the story.
Mobile spyware in the BYOD context poses a threat to enterprises because it can be installed surreptitiously on an employee’s phone and used for industrial or corporate espionage.”
McNamee said it is “surprisingly easy” to add a command and control interface to allow the attacker to control the device remotely, activating the phone’s camera and microphone without the user’s knowledge.
“This enables the attacker to monitor and record business meetings from a remote location. The attacker can even send text messages, make calls or retrieve and modify information stored on the device – all without the user’s knowledge.
“The mobile phone is a fully functional network device. When connected to the company’s Wi-Fi, the infected phone provides backdoor access to the network and the ability to probe for vulnerabilities and assets.
“With these features, an ordinary smart-phone becomes the perfect platform for launching advanced persistent threats (APTs).”
