Android malware could reach 1 million milestone by end of year

NEW DELHI, INDIA: At the end second quarter of 2013, Trend Micro said that mobile malware and the high risk Android app malware continues to grow by the end of this year.

According to the report, Android malware has reached dubious one million milestone before year ending. The major reason behind this was the malware families such as FAKEINST (34 percent) and OPFAKE (30 percent) are the top samples making the rounds today, the firm found.

FAKEINST malware are typically disguised as legitimate apps, but they instead send unauthorized text messages to certain numbers and register users to costly services. One high-profile incident involving FAKEINST is the fake Bad Piggies versions.

On the high-risk apps front, ARPUSH and LEADBLT lead the pack, gathering 33 percent and 27 percent of the total number, respectively. Both are known adware and infostealers, collecting device-related data such as OS information, GPS location, IMEI and so on, according to Trend Micro.