New Report Shows 550 Percent Increase in Consumer Security Risks Connected to Apps

McAfee's Mobile Threat Report found that reporting backdoors, malicious cryptomining, fake apps and banking Trojans all increased substantially in 2018.

• By Sydny Shepard
• Feb 26, 2019

McAfee has released its latest Mobile Threat Report which found the number of fake app detections by McAfee's Global Threat Intelligence increased from around 10,000 in June of 2018 to nearly 65,000 in December of 2018, a 550 percent increase. 

The report showed that backdoors, malicious cryptomining, fake apps and banking Trojans all increased substantially in 2018, propelled by cybercriminals' quest for illicit profits.

According to McAfee Labs' 2019 predictions, cybercriminals are looking for ways to use trusted devices to gain control of Internet of Things devices via password cracking and exploiting other vulnerabilities, such as through exploitation via voice assistants. 

With over 25 million voice assistants in use across the world, these devices are often connected to other things in the home, and with more devices comes greater connectivity and convenes for their owners, as well as more opportunities for malicious deeds. 

“Most IoT devices are being compromised by exploiting rudimentary vulnerabilities, such as easily guessable passwords and insecure default settings,” said Raj Samani, McAfee fellow and chief scientist at McAfee. “From building botnets, to stealing banking credentials, perpetrating click fraud, or threatening reputation damage unless a ransom is paid, money is the ultimate goal for criminals.”