Criminals eye up mobile phone banking
New research from The Tower Group suggests that criminal gangs are now looking to target mobile phone banking services, the goal being to infect or compromise a mobile device in order to steal money from legitimate users.
Targets would most likely be smartphones or wireless PDAs that act as replacements for credit or debit cards. Bob Egan, Chief Analyst at Tower Group, said that over 200 mobile viruses had already been identified and that number is doubling every six months.
“The success of mobile banking and payments, as well as the concept of the mobile wallet, will be measured against the industry’s ability to effectively contain the malware problems to a level that is at least on par with that of the existing internet channel. Now is the time for IT managers and line of business heads within institutions to take action to protect both their companies and customers from mobile malware,” he said.
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