Kaspersky: PH ranks 3rd in SEA with most Android mobile malware attempts

Kaspersky data from January to September 2019 show the Philippines placed third among Southeast Asian countries with the highest Android mobile malware attempts detected and blocked by the cybersecurity company. The Philippines has been in the same spot since 2017 next to list-toppers Indonesia and Malaysia, respectively.

Number of Android attacks blocked by Kaspersky

The statistical data for this report came from all Kaspersky mobile security solutions, not just Kaspersky Mobile Antivirus for Android. Ranking excludes countries with fewer than 25,000 active users of Kaspersky mobile security solutions over the reporting period. Recent figures show there are 82.52% Android mobile users in the country from September 2018 to September 2019.

According to the cybersecurity company’s security experts, 98% of mobile malware are designed for the Android OS. This puts Android mobile users who use banking and shopping apps at high risk of downloading malware themselves without knowing it.

Kaspersky has been monitoring malware attempts against its users who use Android devices in SEA and found that malware attempts have been increasing. Banking and ransomware Trojans were the top malware detected in the region.
Trojans are one of the most dangerous species in the malware world.

Banking Trojans steal money from mobile users’ bank accounts that are linked to their bank cards and apps. These malware are popular with hackers because they provide a direct route into other people’s accounts.

Users download mobile banking Trojans themselves. Most of the time, cybercriminals disguise Trojans as legitimate apps and when an Android device user downloads the app, along with it comes the malware that is also installed into the device. Once a banking app is launched, the Trojan displays its own interface overlaying the banking app’s interface. As a user inputs credentials, the malware steals the information. Most cases also show that mobile banking Trojans intercept SMS messages from banks with confirmation codes or information about withdrawals.

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