With the proliferation of mobile devices, mobile malware has become an increasing risk. There is an ongoing trend of users moving away from the traditional PC market of notebooks and desk-based computers toward mobile devices, a trend that Gartner has described as reflecting a long-term change in user behavior since at least 2013.¹ As the use of traditional desktop and notebook computers declines and the use of mobile devices increases, mobile devices increasingly become the logical target of malware.

Kaspersky has been providing a very detailed report of the evolution of mobile malware over the past several years, and the latest statistical analysis represented that malware was increasingly targeting users’ personal data (stalkerware), and Trojans notably began popping up in legitimate App stores. One such example of stalkerware is the commercially available application, FinSpy, which has incorporated capabilities to intercept messages from applications like Threema and Signal by leveraging the DirtyCow exploit (Android, CVE-2016-5195).²

References:

[1] https://www.gartner.com/reviews/market/mobile-threat-defense-solutions(Gartner threat report)

[2] https://for585.com/kasperskyreport