Symantec: Security threats to mobile devices on the rise

Symantec: Security threats to mobile devices on the riseAccording to the recently-released annual Cybercrime Report by Symantec, mobile malware is growing at an alarming pace, and mobile security threats are apparently on the rise; thanks largely to the fact that more and more PC users are now shifting to mobile devices like smartphones and tablets.

Going by the Symantec report, there was a two-fold increase in the frequency of mobile threats between 2010 and 2011. The security threats to mobile devices is currently looming large, with cyber-criminals now increasingly resorting to mobile cyber-crime activities like sending out unsolicited text messages for capturing personal data, toll fraud, and e-mail phishing scams.

The Symantec report revealed that nearly 35 percent of online adults all over the world had either lost their mobile devices or had them stolen; thereby exposing them to identity and data theft.

The report also said that while cyber-crime already cost consumers a whopping $110 billion worldwide in 2011, the increasing security threats to mobile devices would likely increase the figures notably as online crime will cost the consumers even more.

With the Symantec report underscoring that mobile devices are clearly the next big target for the cyber-criminals looking to make quick money, the increasing security threats to mobile devices was already highlighted during this year's Black Hat conference in Las Vegas, where security researchers demonstrated flaws in popular mobile technologies like near field communication (NFC), HTML 5, and baseband firmware.