With over 137 million Internet users in India, 7 out of 10 users access Internet through mobile. Additionally, India grew its social media
user base from 38 million in 2011 to 60 million in 2012, making both
mobile and social media platforms a preferred site for cybercrime
attacks, Nasdaq-listed Symantec Corporation’s Norton Cybercrime Report 2012.
Cybercriminals are constantly changing their tactics to target both
these fast-growing platforms where consumers are less aware of security
risks. This fast-paced change has impacted individuals with loss of
data, identities and finances to name a few. According to the report, it
is estimated that more than 42 million people fell victim to cybercrime
in the past 12 months in India, suffering approximately $8 billion in
direct financial losses.
“Many of us at Symantec and Norton have been putting our heads together
to predict some of what we can expect to see in 2013. Of the predictions
we have come up with, I want to draw your attention in particular to
two – the likelihood that cyber terrorism will get highly personal as
attacks focus on individuals or minority groups and the possibility that
new electronic payment methods could be vulnerable to hacks and
breaches,” David Hall, regional consumer product marketing manager (Asia-Pacific), Norton by Symantec, said in a release.
While these predictions are based on what is seen today, they also
reflect where things are going based on years of expertise,
understanding of threat evolution, and experience in previous cyber
security trends, he added.
The report says that conflicts between nations, organisations and
individuals will play a key role in the cyber world. “In 2013, we will
see the cyber equivalent of saber rattling, where nation states,
organisations and even groups of individuals will use cyber attacks to
show their strength and ‘send a message’.
Additionally, we expect more targeted attacks on individuals and
non-government organisations such as supporters of political issues and
members of minority groups in conflict,” Hall said.
Adding to the insanity will be madware (or mobile adware), a nuisance
that disrupts the user experience and can potentially expose location
details, contact information and device identifiers to cybercriminals.
Madware, which sneaks onto a user device when they download an app,
often sends pop-up alerts to the notification bar, adds icons, changes
browser settings and gathers personal information.
“In just the past nine months, the number of apps including the most
aggressive forms of madware has increased by 210%. Because location and
device information can be legitimately collected by advertising
networks, it helps them target users with appropriate advertising and we
expect increased use in madware as more companies seek to drive revenue
growth through mobile ads. This includes a more aggressive and
potentially malicious approach towards the monetisation of ‘free’ mobile
apps, the report said.
Norton by Symantec also predicts that attackers will go where users
go, and this continues to be to mobile devices and the cloud. It should
come as no surprise that mobile platforms and cloud services will be
likely targets for attacks and breaches in 2013.
The rapid rise of Android
malware in 2012 confirms this. As users add applications to their
phones they will pick up malware. Some mobile malware duplicates old
threats like stealing information from devices, the report said.
