Kaspersky: Mobile device attack report for Q1 2023

Malware, adware and malware attacks on mobile devices decreased slightly year-on-year. Kaspersky Mobile Security thwarted a total of 4.9 million attacks in the first quarter of 2023.

Mobile malware by type

Adware returned to the top of the list with 34.8%. In the first quarter of 2023, the most widespread adware families were MobiDash (22.5%), HiddenAd (21.9%), and Adlo (12.4%).

The percentage of users attacked by mobile Trojans increased in the first quarter, mainly consisting of the malware Trojan.Android.FakeMoney.V and Trojan.Android.AdInstall. The former is a fake investment app that captures victims’ payment details, while the latter is adware that comes pre-installed on some devices and is capable of downloading and running code (usually ads).

Mobile banking Trojans

The number of banking Trojan installers started to increase again, exceeding 57,000 in the first quarter of 2023.

Mobile Ransomware Trojans

Mobile ransomware volumes remain low after declining in 2022, apparently because this niche is no longer as profitable for crooks as before.