Kevin McNamee says software is readily available online, as company reveals rise in overall mobile malware infections in the first half of 2014.
The head of Alcatel-Lucent’s security business said a cottage industry in mobile spyware has emerged, with malicious software readily available online that can enable unlawful tracking of smartphone users.
Kevin McNamee, director at Kindsight Security Labs, said that there are already many versions of “over the counter” mobile malware available online, and that reviewers have even taken to ranking the effectiveness of the programmes.
In a blog post, McNamee said it is legal to purchase mobile spyware and even legal to utilise it in certain cases, including tracking your children or an elderly relative. “But it also has sinister uses such as tracking a spouse, partner or employee without their knowledge. It then becomes an invasion of privacy,” he noted.
McNamee said the most important aspect in the legality of using mobile spyware “s whether the mobile phone owner has consented to the mobile spyware being downloaded to his or her phone.
“If it’s been loaded secretly on mobile device for the purpose of spying, it’s illegal,” he said.
Mobile spyware is just one element in a broader mobile malware market that Kindsight Security Labs said grew sharply in the first half of 2014. Mobile malware infections increased by 17% during the period, almost twice the rate of expansion recorded by the company in 2013 as a whole.
The company estimated 15 million mobile devices worldwide were infected by mobile malware by end June compared to 11.3 million at end-2013. The infection rate increased from 0.55% at end-December to 0.65% in the first half 2014, with Android devices accounting for 60% of total infections in the recent period.
Trojan applications – those that look real but contain hidden malware – were the main source of mobile malware in the first half of 2014. The apps can take control of Android device users’ SMS and web browser, and steal personal information, Kindsight Security Labs said.
The company noted that much of the rise in mobile malware in 2014 is due to “moderate threat level adware” that swamps users with unwanted adverts or hinders the running of the smartphone. High-level malware capable of stealing personal data experienced “a modest gain.”