Malware Apps in Stores
Google recently confirmed that another set of Play Store applications have been removed and will not be available for android users. This is because the applications were found to infect mobile devices with malware. Therefore, mobile users who had installed these applications are advised to uninstall them. Malware in mobile stores is the most recent threat affecting mobile users. The applications are designed to open backdoor avenues onto an infected device, allowing separate malware apps into the device without the user’s knowledge. These malware apps from different sources circumnavigate the mobile store security. When malware apps are downloaded to a device, they hide; therefore users cannot realize they are their phones. The fact that these apps cannot be detected makes them a bigger threat than most forms of threats associated with mobile devices.
Statistics about mobile malware show an increasing number of complex and sophisticated threats (He, 2013). However, most mobile users are not aware of these threats and how to detect if the phones are infected. Awareness is a critical aspect in mobile phone security since according to the European Network and Information Security Agency (ENIS), lack of awareness is by itself a mobile vulnerability (Hogben & Decker, 2010). For instance, most smartphone users, who are a significant of the population are not aware of the security options that can make their phones secure. Additionally, some people have shifted to performing money transactions using their phones without assessing the credibility of mobile applications. The fact that mobile users focus more on the benefits they will gain from application rather than the security aspect is also another sign that most people are unaware of the vulnerabilities mobile app stores are exposed to. Therefore, users end up giving private information, which is required to access various benefits in apps, exposing their devices to attacks.
References
He, W. (2013). A survey of security risks of mobile social media through blog mining and an
extensive literature search. Information Management and Computer Security, 21(5), 381
Hogben, G. & Dekker, M. (2010). Smartphones: Information security risks, opportunities and
recommendations for users, ENISA, Heraklion, Greece.