Malware main culprit for mobile ad fraud and airtime theft in South Africa
early 1.7 million mobile
N subscribers are infected with mobile malware in South Africa alone , according to full year 2019 data by mobile security expert , Secure-D . The vendor says malware is the main culprit responsible for airtime theft and mobile ad fraud evident in the country with 18,000 instances found on South African users ’ devices .
Mobile malware can either be downloaded on the device by the user via an app or come pre-installed . Once activated on the device , mobile malware becomes part of a ‘ botnet ’ ( short for robot network ) of infected devices . These botnets , networks of malwareinfused devices , are being remotecontrolled at scale by a ‘ bot-herder ’.
In the case of mobile ad fraud , the malicious application visits websites , clicks on banner ads and simulates a real person going through a subscription or other Direct Carrier Billing purchase processes . It even overrides a two-step authentication process all the while remaining undetected by the user . The fraudster ’ s goal is to claim pay-outs from advertisers for bogus traffic . ensuring that excessive battery drain doesn ’ t occur . Some apps change their name after they have been downloaded or remain totally out of sight i . e . they cannot be found at the homepage of a device with an app icon .
In 2019 , Secure-D detected a total of 1.69 million malware-infected devices in South Africa , spanning 18,000 different applications . Secure-D maintains a public global malware list at where the top malware threats in each market is being reported .
Secure-D has been deployed in South Africa since late 2018 , with the largest mobile network operators in the country covering 70 million mobile subscribers . According to Secure-D data for 2019 , 86 % of the mobile transactions processed were fraudulent . During the full year 2019 – end of August 2020 period , Secure-D has processed more than 73 million mobile transactions , identifying and blocking a staggering 24,000 malicious apps that had infected over 2 million mobile devices .
To avoid falling victim , Android users in particular should check their phones to see if they have any of the apps flagged as suspicious installed . If so , they should uninstall them immediately and review any new mobile airtime charges for possible fraud .
In 2019 , Secure-D blocked US $ 2.1 billion worth of fraudulent transactions , improving the end-user experience and building customer loyalty on behalf of operators globally . u intelligent MOBILE SECURITY
The result is unsolicited airtime charges with users being able to detect the early signs of a malware infection when they see their mobile data plan being rapidly depleted with no apparent reason .
What is especially tricky about mobile malware is that it continues to operate without raising the suspicions of the user of the device . Tricks include making sure the app functions well even when malware runs in the background or
58 Issue 30 | www . intelligentciso . com