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Bahrain is the least affected country in the Middle East, but a
2pc attack rate still represents a one-in-50 chance of infection

Cyber attack alert for Android users in Bahrain

MANAMA, October 17, 2014

Smartphone users in Bahrain have been warned to protect their mobile data after a new report found that one in every 50 of the devices will become infected with malicious software.

According to the joint study from cyber security specialists Kaspersky Lab and Interpol, called "Mobile Cyber-threats", users of the Google-developed Android operating system are increasingly at risk of attack by hackers, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

"We often hear experts saying that Android users have nothing to worry about - that although malicious programmes for this system appear regularly, the number of attacks is not significant," said Kaspersky Lab senior virus analyst Roman Unuchek.

"Until recently, that could be regarded as a fair comment. However, the situation has changed dramatically over the last year - and not for the better."

A total of 1,000,000 Android devices encountered dangerous software globally between August 2013 and July this year, according to Kaspersky, and Middle East users are among some of the worst affected.

Yet Bahrain fared better than many of its regional counterparts, with cyber attacks highest in Saudi Arabia, where 36 per cent of devices became infected, and the UAE, with 20 per cent, as opposed to Oman with eight per cent, Qatar and Kuwait with five per cent, and finally Bahrain with just two per cent.

The report warned of a growing trend in so-called "banking trojans", which are a type of malicious software designed to steal users' bank account details.

"The total number of banking trojans targeting mobile devices grew from 423 in August, 2013 to 5,967 in July last year," said the report.

"That is a more than 14-fold increase."

The study recommended that smartphone users password-protect their devices, do not download applications from unapproved companies and generally be more aware of what agreements they are entering into during the installation of an application. - TradeArabia News Service




Tags: Bahrain | cyber | Smartphone | attack | Android |

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