McAfee, Inc. has announced findings from new research that reveals mobile operators globally are experiencing more mobile malware attacks than ever before, and spending more time and money on recovery from these attacks.
Combine this with the amount of smartphones in office use today and you have a recipe for serious concerns

'The research found that nearly half of the operators who have experienced mobile malware outbreaks have had one within the last three months. 83 percent 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. The research indicates that mobile operators are concerned with the impact of mobile security on their business. Almost 80 percent cited impact on public relations or their brand as of high concern, closely followed by the loss of credibility in the reliability of new services.

Despite the fact that most mobile operators are experiencing mobile security incidents and are concerned with its future impact, the research also highlights a large gap between the kind of protection operators consider important and that which they actually deploy.

In line with the growing importance of mobile security to service providers, 85 percent 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.)

PDAs and smart phones are becoming standard business'' tools storing sensitive business information and enabling email on the move. This makes them vulnerable to attack from malware authors seeking out new ways to defraud users and steal confidential business data. With increased uptake of mobile devices, the risks to business reputation, communication and continuity are becoming more serious. Risks include data theft, disruption of mobile phone networks, and the hijacking of phones to send unauthorized revenue-generating SMS messages. SophosLabs has identified over 200 examples of malicious mobile code.

Mobile devices can be infected in many ways including email, MMS, external memory cards, PC synchronization, and even via Bluetooth. Windows and Symbian users are at the greatest risk. The ability for users to add their own software to devices running these operating systems makes them more vulnerable than the closed operating systems used on BlackBerry (RIM) and many Linux-based devices.

Protect yourself and your clients

Make sure your security policy includes a strategy for mobile devices covering: