ISLAMABAD – World saw alarming increase in banking data theft attacks on smartphone during 2024, reveals a Kaspersky report.
The report titled “The mobile malware threat landscape in 2024” revealed that the Trojan banker attacks on smartphones rise by 196 per cent in 2024 as compared with the previous year.
Cybercriminals used mass malware distribution to carry out more than 33.3 million attacks aimed at steal banking credentials. Trojan banker malware steal user credentials for online banking, e-payment and credit card.
Attacks on Android smartphones were recorded at 1,242,000 in 2024 as compared to 420,000 in 2023. Cybercriminals trick users into downloading Trojan bankers by spreading links via SMS, malicious attachments in messengers, and by leading to webpages.
For making the fraud appear trustworthy, they usually send messages from a hacked contact’s account. Attackers also use trending news and hype topics to create a sense of urgency.
Anton Kivva, a security expert at Kaspersky, stressed the need of becoming cyber-literate and educating family members, especially children and elderly.
According to the report, the most widespread category remains AdWare, accounting for 57pc of attacked users, followed by general Trojans (25pc) and RiskTools (12pc).
Shahzad Shahid, Policy Advocate and Expert on IT and Digital Economy in Pakistan suggested raising awareness and adopting a multi-faceted approach to cyber security.
“People should be educated on safe digital practices, such as avoiding suspicious links, using multi-factor authentication, and installing security updates regularly”, he said while urging the government to integrate cyber security education into academic curricula, and ensuring strict regulatory measures for financial institutions and digital service providers.
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