Tech Shout!

Security firm McAfee has announced that a finding from a new research has revealed an astonishing fact. As per the finding, mobile operators worldwide are experiencing more mobile malware attacks than ever before, and spending more time and money on recovery from these attacks. Mobile malware can destroy a phone, steal contact information, or run up bills with SMiShing or text message phishing attacks.

The Informa Telecoms and Media (ITM) study, sponsored by security software vendor McAfee says that 83% of mobile operators experienced a malware problem in 2006.

The purpose of the study was to discover to what extent mobile operators are affected by mobile threats. The findings revealed that:

83 percent of mobile operators questioned have been hit by mobile device infections

The number of reported security incidents in 2006 was more than five times as high as in 2005

The number of mobile operators in Europe and APAC reporting incidents affecting more than 1,000 devices more than doubled in 2006

100 percent more operators spent over $200,000 on mobile security in 2006 compared to 2005

The number of mobile operators estimating that the cost of dealing with mobile threats is more than 1000 hours increased by 700 percent

The research reveals that mobile operators are already feeling the impact of mobile threats on customer satisfaction and network performance and are increasingly concerned about the potential impact on their brand and the success of new revenue-generating services.

Further, the research clearly indicates that mobile operators are concerned with the impact of mobile security on their business. Almost 80 percent cited impact on public relations or their brand as of high concern, closely followed by the loss of credibility in the reliability of new services.

Victor Kouznetsov, senior vice president of McAfee Mobile Security said, “This research clearly demonstrates that mobile security is moving quickly up the industry agenda with the number of malware incidents rising and more time and money being dedicated to resolving mobile security issues.” He added, “As mobile data use and functionality proliferates and mobile operators around the world are transforming their businesses from airtime revenue models to transaction- based and content-centric businesses, security is becoming an essential enabler for the success of new revenue-generating services.”

The research was conducted by Informa Telecoms & Media between December 2006 and January 2007. The findings were revealed by McAfee at the 3GSM event, held on February 12-15, 2007 in Barcelona.