Along with the real world, the digital world is also suffering from a pandemic of its own, and it’s being used to collect personal information from the user’s devices. This pandemic is nothing but mobile Adware.
Every other person on this planet is connected to each other via the internet and yet companies rarely prioritize the security of mobile devices.
Mobile threats of various kinds are created each day with their success rates being higher than ever due to sophisticated techniques deployed by cybercriminals. After all, it only takes one mobile device to cause a security breach, and cybercriminals are able to steal sensitive information along with being able to access the corporate network.
An unwanted advertisement that gets displayed on the user’s screens to execute a cyberattack its nothing but an Adware being used by cybercriminals.
Deducing the origins.
The most crucial problem with adware is deducing on how a mobile device got infected with it since adware is developed to sneak into a user’s device without any uninstallation procedures. Negating such a threat can be very difficult and any information it collects can be deemed as a high-security risk.
There are millions of apps available for download for both Android and IoS users and Adware is commonly distributed only through mobile apps. Due to a wide net that it can cast the use of Adware is one of the popular modes of cyber attack chosen by cybercriminals across the world.
In the recent past, the world has witnessed security breaches where the Adware has imitated a Google application and exploited vulnerabilities in the Android systems, replacing the originally installed applications with its malicious versions, without the user suspecting any of the above behavior. It was also capable of exploiting the resources of various devices by displaying fraudulent ads which could generate a profit by eavesdropping and stealing bank credentials.
Protecting from the mobile Adware
This kind of malware is difficult to detect and deal with and hence, prevention is better than cure in this scenario as well. Consequently, our security experts suggest the following steps for protecting yourself and your employer from such an adware campaign.
- Download apps from the official Google Playstore or App store.
- Always pay attention to the app’s overall ratings, number of downloads, and reviews written by other users.
- Check if the permissions the app is requesting is really necessary.
- Avoid the app from running and functioning in the background unless it’s absolutely necessary.
- Always update the device and the installed applications with the latest available security patches as soon as they are made available.
- Always install a security tool that would protect the device from any kind of cyber-attacks.
A threat like mobile adware can surely be hard to detect by cybersecurity solutions from eScan are perfectly capable of protecting a user and their organizations from such advanced threats.
To read more, please check eScan Blog
