Nokia reports malware infection rates highest among Android smartphones

Nokia has just released its 'Threat Intelligence Report' which talks about the general trends and statistics for malware infections in devices connected through mobile and fixed networks in the second half of 2016.

Basically, the report reveals how malware infection rates have changed in mobile devices and mobile networks. Getting into the report, it states that in the second half of 2016 the malware infection rates went up 83 percent compared to the first half of 2016 while the overall monthly smartphone infection rate averaged 0.90 percent.

As for the mobile networks, the overall monthly infection rate averaged 1.08 percent in the second half of 2016. The infection rate rose 63 percent from the first half of 2016. Further, the report notes that smartphone infections accounted for 85 percent of infections detected in the mobile network.

Interestingly, Android phones seem to be leading the pack when it comes to being targeted by malware attacks. However, Windows and iOS-based devices seem to also have been affected by such threats. The report reveals, in the second half of 2016 Android devices were responsible for 81 percent, Windows/PCs were 15 percent, and iPhones and other mobile devices included 4 percent.

However, this comes as no surprise. Android is the world's most popular and widely used operating system and therefore attackers are fond of using malware to infect these devices. Android surely has become the more preferred platform for criminals to exploit. Besides the report also states that there has been an enormous switch from PCs to mobile devices. And that is true. Today, people use their smartphones more to connect to the internet that other devices.

On the other hand, while the trends are changing we can conclude is that cybercrime is now significantly moving to the mobile space and that smartphones are becoming the target of choice for many criminals.

Source