Mobile Banking Security - Aug 29

Banking Malware Dominates New Mobile Security Threats: McAfee
"Banking malware and "backdoor" Trojans, which steal data from a computer without the victim realizing it, were the most popular mobile threats unleashed during the second quarter, according to a report released this week by McAfee Labs. The company found more than 17,000 new strains of malware targeting Android devices during the three-month period — a 35% growth rate, higher than any the company has seen since 2010. All told, McAfee now counts 147 million types of malware in its database."

Mobile Malware Rebounds and Keeps Growing, Report Says
"After decreasing slightly in the first three months of this year, mobile malware has rebounded, with 17,000 new Android malware species detected in the second quarter of 2013, according to a new report by security firm McAfee. This rise indicates that cyber criminals are focusing their efforts on infecting smartphones rather than computers, as people are using their phones more frequently — particularly for activities that were traditionally done with a computer, such as online banking."

Ransomware and Android become tastiest targets for cyber crooks
"Ransomware and banking-focused mobile malware are cyber criminals' new must-have items, according to security provider McAfee. McAfee reported seeing a marked spike in the number of ransomware and mobile banking attacks active in the wild in its Second Quarter Threat Report [PDF]. The McAfee report highlighted ransomware as the fastest-growing attack type, revealing that the number of computer-hijacking malware detected has more than doubled in the last four months."

Mobile Banking Now 20% Of All Online Financial Transactions
"iovation, stopping Internet fraud and identifying good online customers with the world's most comprehensive device reputation database, today announced that it and CEB TowerGroup will detail the unique security risks that accompany the rapid adoption of mobile banking in an upcoming webinar. Max Anhoury, iovation's Vice President of Global Sales, and Jason Malo, Research Director at CEB TowerGroup, will host the webinar entitled "Mobile Banking Security: Risks and Consequences" on Wednesday, August 21, 2013, at 10 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time."

IT security experts identify growing threat of fake mobile banking apps
"In its second quarterly threats report for 2013 (38-page / 2.61MB PDF), McAfee said that hackers are using "banking malware" that allows them to access text messages sent by banks to their customers that ask for extra security details to be entered before giving access to accounts. The malicious software sends hackers a copy of the text messages issued by the banks, it said."

Risks of Online Banking
"With just a quick snap of a picture or a few taps on you cell phone, you can transfer money, cash a check, and do practically all of your banking online. But you could be jeopardizing not only your banking and savings accounts, but your online security. If you think twice before accessing banking information on your cell phone, you're not alone. Even though smart phone use has sky rocketed over the years, the more mobile banking capabilities that are available to you has had a big down side. Having this technology right at your finger tips has made consumers more concerned about sharing their personal financial information over the phone."