Research reveals 83% of mobile operators hit by mobile malware

Stan Beer
Tuesday, 13 February 2007 14:34

Your IT - Home IT

Findings from new research reveals mobile operators globally are experiencing more mobile malware attacks than ever before, and spending more time and money on recovery from these attacks.

The research found that nearly half of the operators who have experienced mobile malware outbreaks have had one within the last three months. Twice as many mobile operators spent over US$200,000 on mobile security in 2006, compared to 2005.

The Informa Telecoms & Media (ITM) study, sponsored by security company McAfee, examined in detail mobile operators' past experiences, current attitudes and future plans with regards to mobile security.  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.

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

    -- 83% 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% more operators spent over US$200,000 on mobile security in

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

Nearly one-third (29%) of operators stated that subscriber satisfaction had suffered more than any other factor including revenue. The second most serious impact from mobile malware infections was on network performance.

In line with the growing importance of mobile security to service providers, 85% of those questioned plan to increase their mobile security budgets to tackle issues including network intrusion, mobile viruses, denial-of-service attacks, spam and mobile phishing (SMiShing.)

"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," said Michael Sentonas, Director, SE & Services Asia Pacific, McAfee. "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."