Possible threats to mobile users in 2012

Guest post from Andrew Ford.

This is quite an exciting week for my inaugural blog; Earlier this month, Norton by Symantec announced the availability of Norton Tablet Security and an update of Norton Mobile Security Followed by Get Safe Online Week which focused on threats to smart phones from rogue apps and malware .

This got me thinking about what the biggest threats to mobile users in 2012 will be.  I had a chat with Orla Cox, one of my colleagues in the Symantec Security Response Centre in Dublin and this is what she had to say;

Orla Cox;

“We’ll likely to continue to see an increase in attacks via mobile platforms. In the past year we’ve seen 40 new families of mobile threats.  This number will continue to increase over the next year.  At the same time, however, PC threats will continue to be most dominant, vector numbers wise.  We continue to add detection for 60,000 new threats every week”

I also asked Orla how she thought the  bad guys would be making their cash in 2012 and she pointed out that the increase in the use of mobile devices for financial transactions will continue to make them a more attractive target for criminals.  Using  smart phones or tablets to make payments means that users must store their credit card details on the phone, therefore we may see attackers creating malware that can steal that data. We may also see threats which follow the trend in Windows malware such as Rogue Antivirus software.

I know myself that the open and ubiquitous platforms are the most attractive for attackers and for that reason Android will likely continue to be the more attractive platform to attach.  If we see an increase in popularity for Windows Mobile-Nokia devices, then these too may become attractive to attacker. Apple iPhones and iPads will also not be immune from threats due to the millions now being used across the world. Indeed using any mobile device in an open wifi environment leaves a user open to other people capturing the data they transmit across the airwaves.

All this said, it remains more important than ever to be smart when using your smart phone and tablet.

As a minimum users should lock their phone with a pin code (you would be surprised just how many people don’t use this simple function on their phone).  This is a simple function that can save users a lot of hassle if their phone falls into the wrong hands.  At the other end of the scale, users can install mobile security on their mobile device. Caution should also be used when connecting to wifi hotspots.

Mobile devices are now mini computers and people keep their lives on them. How do you protect your device?

November 23, 2011 | Filed Under Family Online Safety, Identity theft, Mobile, Security, Technology | Leave a Comment 

Fatal System Error

Without wanting to turn my Blog into a book-club, without the wine I may add, I want to recommend a very interesting and readable book.  ‘Fatal System Error’ by Joseph Menn, offers a fascinating glimpse and insight into how cybercrime has evolved, it’s consequences and the issues that law enforcement faces in counteracting it. 

The factual narrative is enlivened by focusing on the story of two individuals who have battled against the rise in cybercrime. Barret Lyon, a computer whizz who unwittingly became embroiled in protecting legitimate and illegitimate businesses against attacks. Andrew Crocker is a British detective, who in working for the National Hi-Tech Crime Unit in the UK, went to Russia to track down and prosecute hackers and to find out who they ultimately worked for. 

The books offers great insights into how cybercrime works, who is involved and why it is being used. It is truly shocking and thought-provoking, in equal measure.

April 20, 2010 | Filed Under Gaming, Identity theft, Regulation, Security, Technology, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment 

A gathering storm in the clouds?

This past week saw news that the ‘Cloud’ had fallen victim to the bot-herders. Use this link to see the coverage of it on CNET.  Security researchers found that a variant of the infamous password stealing Zeus Trojan had found its way onto a server, hosted on Amazon’s Elastic Computing Cloud (EC2) and they had used as their command and control point.

This news, I am sure, helped provoke a severe case of ‘I told you so’ from the cloud ‘nay-sayers’. However, whether the server site was in the cloud, or on plain boring terra firma, the cause of the hack, was not something new or revelatory. It was in all probability, something more prosaic. A hole in a particular application may have opened the door, or other instances of Zeus could have captured log-in credentials, which were then used to access the necessary services hosted on EC2.

It requires site owners to ensure that they lock-down access to the server and that they update and patch the software used to mitigate any vulnerabilities. The rush to cloud based services and infrastructure is gathering pace. What this incident should remind us is that the same rules, controls and requirements need to be applied to sites hosted in the cloud, as anywhere else.

December 14, 2009 | Filed Under Security, Technology | Leave a Comment 

The Spy in your hand?

crystal-ballI came across an article in ‘Businesweek’ (June 15th, 2009) that caught my attention. It’s theme was that a new generation of user-friendly spy-phone software has become widely available in the past year or so. They note that more than 200 companies are selling spyware online, at prices as low as $50. What really was interesting was the estimation that 3% of mobiles in France and Germany are ‘tapped’ and that this rises to 5% in countries such as Italy and Greece. Now, it has to be admitted that the source of this estimate was a private-investigation outfit in Italy. That being said, James Atkinson a spy-phone expert at Granite Island Group, Massachusetts, puts the number of tapped phones at 3% in the US. I agree that all of this needs to be taken with a good pinch of salt; nonetheless it does get you thinking.

The current generation of spy-phone software has one major drawback and that is that you need to have access to the phone you want to tap to load the software onto it. That being said the Newsweek article goes onto outline that a new generation of mobile spyware that is being developed for law enforcement agencies will accompany a text message and automatically itself on the targets phone when the message is opened. The supposition being that the same technology could also make its way into the hands of criminals.

The article finishes off claiming that AV and security programs developed for computers require too much processing power, even for smartphones.  At the end of the day, the spy-phone software is just software, just as is the security software that can detect it and mitigate the risk. So I do not sign up for their presumption that smartphones are exposed. We are seeing the evolution and deployment of security software for smartphones.  There is a saying in our industry – ‘security through obscurity’. By and large, it can be seen to be a truism. At the moment, with smartphones this can also be seen. Given the number of mobile operating systems that are being used e.g. iPhone OS, Palm Web OS, Android, Windows Mobile, Symbian etc, it neatly segments the addressable market into smaller chunks that may diminish the attractiveness of any segment to the malware author. It may simply be a moment in time, but no doubt many would like it to hold for as long as possible. Thankfully, in term of actual numbers, the volume of malware for smartphones and applications such as spy-phone software is dwarfed by that created for the PC.  However, it is one area that needs to be taken seriously and a careful eye kept on it.

June 9, 2009 | Filed Under Market trends, Security, Technology | Leave a Comment 

Are your search results poisoned?

seoWould you even know?  I am sure that you, like me, spend some part of your working day entering words into a search engine as we try and get additional information to help us with our work tasks. The same can also be said in our own free time, wherein, we use search engines to find all manner of information to help organise and enliven our lives.

The following article caught my attention as it draws attention to the increasing focus that the cyber-criminals are putting into ‘optimising’ key words that, when put into a search engine, would lead someone to a site that they have setup and control. Once, you are on the site, they can then start to try and attack your PC directly, or by getting you to download a file that would contain malware. This whole approach is premised on them inserting themselves into legitimate terms, from there they work to optimise their sites so they appear further up the rankings, hence increasing the likelihood that someone would click through to their site.  The term that is being used to describe this attack approach is ‘search engine poisoning’. We have created a Podcast that details the motives behind search engine poisoning and provides information on how you can protect yourself.

June 2, 2009 | Filed Under Security, Technology | Leave a Comment 

New end-points in need of protection?

digitalmediaThe commentators and experts are starting to turn their attention and share their opinions on the next internet revolution. What can it be? Well, there seems to be broad consensus that our favourite content is due to undergo a revolution in how it makes it way to us, as consumers.  There is an interesting piece in ‘ The Times’ on this very subject.From your favourite TV shows, to newspapers, magazines etc, we can have, anytime, anywhere, any-device access to it.

The sceptics out there will say – ‘heard it all before’.  However, I do think we are getting to a point of lift-off. The technology and devices could make this happen are starting to make real in-roads. The attention that the Amazon Kindle has gained in the past year is testament to it. In the US, the ‘Hulu’ on-demand access to TV shows and movies has proven itself very popular. Here in the UK, the BBC with the iPlayer has pushed the concept of ‘streaming’ and any-time access into the consciousness of the masses.

In prospect, what all of this means is the opening up of a potential new security considerations. At the end of the day, ‘content’ is digital and it is software, therefore it can be exploited as malware.  Time and attention is going to have to be given to the security issues attendant with this brave new world. Nobody is going to be happy if they download and pay for books, only for them to be scrubbed by a virus, or held to be subjected to ransom-ware.  I am sure this is a subject area and topic that we will all come back to (repeatedly) in the fullness of time.

May 13, 2009 | Filed Under Announcements, Security, Technology | Leave a Comment 

A culture of surveillance?

snoopThe debate as to how much information the Government and security services should hold on us as citizens is an ever contentious one.  Our ability to ‘communicate’ has never been more powerful and pervasive. Advances in technology have enabled it.  Modern day communications, be they telephone or internet based, do leave a ‘log’ of what happened . The debate is twofold: the philosophical one as to the right to access this information, then the practical, just how much of this information should be disclosed or examined?

The UK is somewhat characterised as one of the countries wherein, its citizens are extensively monitored. It is a sobriquet derived from the early and extensive adoption of CCTV. The UK Government had been set to try to implement a database that would have recorded all internet activity for the use of the security services. This has now been scrapped, according to the BBC.

The Home Office will instead ask communications companies – from internet service providers to mobile phone networks – to extend the range of information they currently hold on their subscribers and organise it so that it can be better used by the police, MI5 and other public bodies investigating crime and terrorism.

There is an interesting analogy that could be used here and it is with respect to the modern day telephone. We are all aware and have become accustomed to seeing our telephone activity being logged. Every month, we receive our statements and we can see that someone has been logging all the call we made, to what number, at what time and for how long. By implication we acknowledge that this is happening and we are comfortable with it, as it does not go to the next step of reporting the content of the call. Furthermore, we are all aware that law enforcement can now routinely uses telephone records to help with criminal investigations.

So, there is practical and legal precedent. It will be interesting to see if this can and will be extended to the internet. The Government is now engaged in another round of consultation. It will be interesting how this round of discussion and debate pans out.

April 28, 2009 | Filed Under Regulation, Security, Technology | Leave a Comment 

The ‘OS’ is so last year

I have been travelling a lot these past weeks. I have even set a new record for myself: nine countries, in nine days! As I have been getting on and off ‘planes, I have had more of an opportunity to read a newspaper to help beat the boredom of travel. In one of the papers I was reading, what really caught my eye was an advert for a new ‘phone.  It looked great, nice screen and keyboard. My eyes meandered down the list of key features highlighted in the advert. It looked, just the job as I am starting to tire of my current smartphone.  However, I really wanted to know what operating system (OS) is used. What?? For reasons I will save you from, this is important to me for the moment. Now, the advert did not call out the OS, subsequently, I had to go and check the web site to find this out.

In travelling around and meeting with the Press, invariably the conversation gets round to a discussion about ‘what will be the threats in the future’? Now, predicting the future is a notorious game. However, I have long held the view that we are seeing the future being played out today. Our world is all about the internet and that is what will be attacked and wherein where the threats will come.  What is important, is having access to the ‘net at all times and in a flexible and adaptable way. Increasingly, we see the ‘net and our daily lives through a ‘browser’. We are seeing the browser being attacked and exploited. Whilst, at the same time, the browsers are becoming increasingly platform or OS, agnostic. You just expect your favourite browser experience to be available to you, never mind what device you are using, or where you are. Now, we are not quite there yet, but the direction is set. Which, gets me back to that advert for the new smartphone.

I really need to listen to myself a little more. The ‘OS’ really need not matter to me – I need to conquer that particular addiction. I need only concern myself with whether I can connect to the ‘net, surf and email, listen to music, use the GPS and watch movies. Importantly, that it should be safe at all times and in all situations.

October 19, 2008 | Filed Under Latest Gadget, Security, Technology | Leave a Comment 

The ‘hard’ Trojan

An article in ‘Businessweek’ (October 13, 2008), got my attention.  The main article was entitled ‘Dangerous Fakes’ and what the impact of how counterfeit, defective computer components are getting into US warplanes and ships.

Within the article, there was an example given of how counterfeit routers were sold to the US Marine Corp and Air Force. The US based distributors of the counterfeit routers have subsequently been indicted.  Following on from this, the FBI provided a  briefing in which they outlined how counterfeit routers ‘could’ allow foreign agents to disrupt secure networks and ‘weaken cryptographic systems’.  Now, from what I could discern, there was no proof that these routers had been used to compromise any networks: but the point is made and understood.

For the moment, in the world of malware, Trojans are proving to be a popular and effective delivery method for the bad guys.  It is interesting to see, in this example,  the possibility for hardware to be used as the receptacle for the delivery of an exploit or attack. The hardware is the ‘Trojan’ and the threat lurks within. Given the fact, that increasingly, all manner of electronic devices now have some form of storage, processing power and the ability to ‘network’ themselves, then at a conceptual level, we can see the potential security issues.  Now, actual examples of real-life exploits are few and far between, to my knowledge. That being said, the Businessweek article moves the story on one more notch.

Once again, what it does show, is that the search to get branded goods at ‘bargain’ prices does come at some cost.  Notably, security.  As with everything, the lesson has to be: check into the provenance of what you are buying.

October 19, 2008 | Filed Under Security, Technology | Leave a Comment 

And the winner is….?

I came across a survey in PC Advisor that got me thinking. They asked their users ‘what’s the most important aspect of their security product’s arsenal?’. The resounding winner was the ‘firewall’ with 45% of respondents voting for it, followed by ‘signature based AV’ with 19% and the  ‘behavioural analysis’, with 16%. So, there you have it, the firewall is still ‘top-dog’ when it comes to security in the eyes of the readers of PC Advisor.

There was a side of me that was pleased that the readers felt comfortable and able to discern the elements of a modern day security product. Well, we have been talking about ‘strength-in-depth’ for a long time now and people would seem to recognise and understand this. But then again, one could generalise that the readers of PC Advisor are the more technically engaged and interested. Hence, they could determine the different aspect of a security product’s arsenal.  The reality is that probably, most people would not know the respective merits of one element of a security product from another. Nor should they I suppose, they expect us security companies to take care of all this stuff for them.

In that regard security software has gone the way of the automotive industry. Gone are the days when  you could lift the ‘bonnet’ of a car and marvel at the site of the carburettor, the overhead gasket and the timing belt. Back then, we were encouraged to take an interest, it was a talking point in drive-ways across the land as men-folk (trying not to be sexist here), would congregate to view and discuss the relative merits of one car engine versus the other. Have we fallen out of love with the car? No, we have simply moved on.

Now, with security software, times are moving on and fast. Many of the more obvious elements of the software are being supplanted and changed. We are trying to keep security software ‘out of the faces of users’, as much as we can. We are trying to do much of the job in the background and away from the user. It will be interesting to see, what aspects, of a security product PC Advisor readers will rate in two to three years time.

October 2, 2008 | Filed Under Security, Technology | Leave a Comment 

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