PC still the biggest target for cyber criminals?

PC or mobile? The debate whether cyber crime is attacking more personal computers or mobility devices will be on for some more years to come; but the fact that malware intruding more and more both mobile and windows Pcs will bound to increase day by day!

The Quick Heal Research Annual Windows and Mobile Malware Report, 2012 shows rapid increase of almost 90% in Windows malware and an increase of 170% in its modifications.

The findings from Quick Heal's Annual Malware Report show that though PC is still the prevalent target for malware authors today, there is an obvious peak in the growth of malware and their modifications on mobile devices, especially on the Android platform.

Sanjay Katkar, Technical Director and CTO, Quick Heal Technologies, said "Windows is still the most attacked Operating System. 2012 saw numerous attacks that were devised for windows vulnerabilities. Cybercriminals have leveraged zero-day exploits even more effectively with new software patterns and business models. The web is still the most conventional way of targeting victims.

However,the bad guys are also winning the war in the Mobile platform and have swarmed India. Virus attacks in the Mobile space have also started soaring at a rapid pace with 30% growth registered in 2012 and a phenomenal 80% increase in its modifications. The Mobile device malware has also reached a new stage of evolution, the Quick Heal Report said.

As per the findings, there has been a persistent increase in the number of malware attacks especially on the Google Android platform and Mobile applications have become the easiest way to compromise devices. Over 25 billion apps were downloaded from Google Play in 2012, which make applications easy and profitable attack vehicles.

On the influx of Mobile malware, Katkar observed that "It is no longer restricted to the global scenario alone but has aggressively penetrated in India as well. This combined with the concerns of lost and stolen devices emphasize the fact that it is about time that Mobile security is taken seriously. People still prefer convenience over security and this is not an issue that is restricted to the victims alone but it now engulfs almost everyone with a Smartphone. Security here implies the right mixture of a robust tool to manage devices and apps and protecting the data, passwords and usernames.