Tag Archive for: Surge

Fraud Follows A Surge in Mobile Adoption

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Mobile fraud attacks continue to be on an upward trajectory as mobile has become a prominent channel in launching fraud attacks. In the opening quarter of 2021, there was a 43% increase in mobile attack rate, rising to 32% from 19% in the last quarter of 2020.

There is an increase in attacks originating on mobile devices because more and more good users are interacting with businesses via mobile devices. Fraudsters are taking advantage of this rising popularity to launch mobile fraud attacks across multiple touchpoints. Mobile attacks are not only easy to launch but fraudsters can easily cover their tracks to evade detection. They are able to spoof devices due to the ease with which they can purchase IP addresses and associated mobile fingerprint devices from numerous websites.

Mobile attacks pose a huge challenge for the gaming industry

According to Statista, as of January 2021 mobile phones were the most used devices for gaming worldwide. Online gaming not only saw a prolific increase in the number of players but also in the number of hours as well as the money spent. It is estimated that during the pandemic the number of users playing video games in the U.S. rose to 79% while the time spent on gaming increased 26% and the money spent increased 33%. Online gaming companies experienced the biggest engagement levels and increased revenues that are projected to touch US$23,582m by 2021 and US$31,328m by 2025.

Gaming was also the top sector targeted by mobile-based fraud attacks. The gaming industry that has been under siege throughout 2020, saw high rates of mobile fraud attacks across all touchpoints during Q1. Overall, attacks from the mobile channel increased from 19% in Q4 2020 to 32% Q1 2021. These attacks were overwhelmingly bot-driven, as gaming platforms were barraged with bot attacks that contributed to nearly 97% of the attacks. Attackers launched high-volume campaigns to target multiple consumer touchpoints, including credential stuffing on logins – the most attacked touchpoint on the Arkose Labs network. 

Another industry that experiences a large section of users connecting through mobiles is media that encompasses dating, social, and streaming platforms. The…

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Surge in Singapore-linked ‘botnet drones’, used by cyber criminals to hack into household devices, says report | Singapore

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An annual report of the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore said that there had been a general increase in cyber threats in Singapore. — Freestocks/Unsplash pic via TODAY
An annual report of the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore said that there had been a general increase in cyber threats in Singapore. — Freestocks/Unsplash pic via TODAY

SINGAPORE, July 8 — As more people worked from home last year and more businesses went digital, the authorities detected a sharp rise in botnet drones with Singapore internet protocol (IP) addresses, signalling that hackers are stepping up their attacks on home and office devices that are hooked up to the internet.

These could include everything from mobile phones and laptops to baby monitors and smoke detectors, experts said, warning that the rise in such attacks means that users should be more vigilant about the security of their devices.

Ali Fazeli, an information security officer at Singapore-based Infinity Forensics, said that a botnet is a “network or collection of internet connected devices that are infected by malware and remotely controlled by the hacker”.

He said that a botnet drone (not a flying device) is a “computer malware that first infects and compromises the target computer and then connects the target computer into the botnet network”.

The near trebling of detected botnet drones with Singapore IP addresses — up from 2,300 daily in 2019 to 6,600 daily in 2020 on average — was one finding of an annual report by the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) on the cyber landscape here. The report was released on Thursday (July 8).

An IP address allows computers to send and receive information and can be used to identify a computer’s location.

Aside from botnet drones, CSA reported a steep increase in other types of cyber threats such as ransomware and online scams last year.

CSA’s computer emergency response team saw a total of 9,080 cases in 2020 that were related to cyber threats such as ransomware incidents and online scams. Comparatively, there were 8,491 cases in 2019 and 4,977 cases in 2018.

Botnet drones and servers

Last year, CSA observed 1,026 malicious command and control servers hosted in Singapore — a 94 per cent jump from the 530 command and control servers reported in 2019. These servers are used alongside botnet drones by cyber criminals.

Gary Gardiner,…

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McAfee sees surge in mobile malware targeting COVID-19 vaccines | 2021-07-01

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McAfee sees surge in mobile malware targeting COVID-19 vaccines | 2021-07-01 | Security Magazine




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A Year of Lockdown Sees a Surge in Mobile Malware Targeting Banking, Billing and COVID-19 Vaccines

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SAN JOSE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Today, McAfee’s Advanced Threats Research team released its Mobile Threat Report 2021, which found hackers are using fake apps, Trojans and fraudulent messages to target consumers. Last year, McAfee revealed that hidden apps were the most active mobile threat facing consumers. But following a year of lockdowns and a surge in time spent online and on devices, fraudsters are capitalising on this with more approaches. With most of the world still anxious about COVID-19 and demand for vaccines high, McAfee’s research sheds light on how hackers are targeting these fears with bogus apps, text messages, and social media invitations.

“The pandemic changed the way consumers live, meaning hackers have adapted to switch up the various methods they use to target consumers. With more people connected online than ever before, we want to make sure we are doing everything possible to help refocus consumer’s digital mindsets to protect what matters to them and their friends and family – their personal data,” Judith Bitterli, Senior Vice President, Consumer Business Group at McAfee. “Mobile threats remain prevalent in our world and as fraudsters use more advanced methods, this will only continue. We aim to support consumers in safeguarding their personal devices and more importantly, personal data.”

Over the past year, the vaccine rollout has advanced at different rates across the globe, providing plenty of opportunities for hackers. McAfee Advanced Threat researchers found that hackers are hiding malware and malicious links inside fakes vaccination appointments and registration display ads. These have the potential to download malware onto a person’s device that displays unwanted ads, as well as activating accessibility features to give the hacker full device control, with the goal of stealing banking details and credentials. According to the research, some of these campaigns worryingly started as early as November last year, before any vaccines had officially been approved, while others continue to appear as countries roll out their vaccination programmes in the fight against COVID-19.

“We’ve seen how the pandemic not only led…

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