RSA Fighting Mobile Malware

• To counter the emergence of mobile malware on leading app stores, RSA, EMC’s security division, launches its FraudAction™ Anti Rogue App Service aiming at detecting and avoiding malware today spreading with users and stealing their connection IDs.

• RSA intends to address banks, retailers and even vendors.

• EMC reminds that among potential risk vectors, 71% of the companies let their employees use their own mobile in business contexts (Goode Intelligence figures, April 2012) thus endangering sensitive pieces of information. Also, as the number of malicious Android apps now exceeds 20,000 (TrendMicro data, July 2012), 86% of Android malwares consist of repackaged versions of legitimate apps including a malicious load (Android Malware Genome Project, North Carolina State University) which might cause le users to ponder.

Source: EMC – BLACKHAT 2012 Conference

• RSA focuses on various aspects including risk management, mobile security or compliance procedures.

• Successful App stores (over 67 million mobile apps downloaded every day) actually contribute to the proliferation of ever more insidious threats, mimicking even the slightest details of the brands’ images (logos, etc.) to lure the mobile users (as is the case online). Mobile media also help spread these threats and the derived risk of fraud: unaware mobile users would be three times more exposed to phishing attacks than PC users.

• Last March, McAfee highlighted these risks as well as fraudsters’ interest in Android. The antivirus company lifted the veil off a new threat purporting to act as a token generator and targeting leading South American financial institutions (BBVA, Santander, etc.).