F-Secure Labs Releases New Threat Report, Reveals Latest Threats to PC, Mac and Mobile

SAN JOSE, CA–(Marketwired – Mar 5, 2014) – No politics here: Governmental malware, regardless of who created it, will be fought by F-Secure. That’s the message reiterated in the new Threat Report 2H 2013 from F-Secure Labs. In addition, the report reveals that web-based malware attacks doubled in the second half of 2013 in comparison to the first half. And threats targeting Android accounted for 97 percent of mobile threats for the whole year.

With governments reaching to gain access to as much information as possible, F-Secure’s stand on governmental trojans and mass surveillance remains strong: No tolerance. It is and always has been F-Secure’s policy to detect any malware regardless of its source. Privacy is one of F-Secure’s core values reflected in how its products are designed.

“Governmental surveillance is not about governments collecting the information you’re sharing publicly and willingly,” writes Mikko Hypponen, chief research officer at F-Secure Labs. “It’s about collecting the information you don’t think you’re sharing at all… Just because it can technically be done doesn’t make it right.”

Sources aside, web-based attacks, which typically involve techniques that redirect the browser to malicious sites, were the most commonly reported type of attack for the period (26 percent of detections), followed by the Conficker worm (20 percent). The three most common exploits detected during the period were all Java-related. Java exploits, however, declined compared to 1H 2013. Mac malware continues a slight but steady increase, with 51 new families and variants detected in 2013.

It’s (almost completely) all about Android

97 percent of 2013 mobile threats were directed at the Android platform, which racked up 804 new families and variants. The other 3 percent (23) were directed at Symbian. No other platforms had any threats. In contrast, 2012 saw 238 new Android threats.

The top 10 countries reporting Android threats saw a little over 140,000 Android malware detections. 42 percent of reported detections came from Saudia Arabia and 33 percent from India. European countries accounted for 15 percent and 5 percent in the US. As the Android platform itself has relatively few vulnerabilities, the main distribution method is still shady apps downloaded via third-party app stores.

Also covered in the report:

• State of web privacy, and how users may unknowingly have their browsing activities or personal information captured and collected online
• Top cities in the world where you’re most likely to get hit with Android malware
• What to do if you still plan on using Windows XP after April 8
• Why avoiding porn sites and Java may be the key to saving your online existence
• What’s happened with exploit kits since the arrest of BlackHole’s creator
• How the Mevade botnet uses the Tor network to hide its traffic
• As Asia develops, the corresponding increase in malware detections there

Read the full Threat Report 2H 2013. 

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