Malware to increase attacks on android, social networks 

SYDNEY & AUCKLAND – January 19, 2012 – Malware will expand by 23 per cent in 2012 to 90,000,000 samples, almost 17 million more than at the end of 2011, according to Bitdefender®, the award-winning provider of innovative antivirus solutions. 

The data forms part of E-Threats Landscape Report, which looks ahead at the expected evolution of malware in social media networks including Facebook and Twitter, on mobile devices, and the predicted overall growth of cyber crime. 

The report is now available for download at http://www.bitdefender.com.au/news/#E-Threats Reports. It also predicts that much of the new malware and cyber fraud will focus on rapidly growing social networks in 2012, while malware for Android devices will significantly boost the number of threats to smartphones and tablets. 

“The story of 2012 in terms of malware will be one of explosive growth, mostly because of the spread and growing allure of social networks,” said Bitdefender E-Threats Analyst Bogdan Botezatu, who coordinated the report. “Android malware will undergo exponential growth, but starting from a much lower base of malware samples.” 

The Landscape Report, compiled from over a year of detection, prevention and removal worldwide, also includes a Top 10 overview of malware in 2011. It covers developments in hacktivism and abuse of digital certificates, and provides a breakdown of spam messages, which accounted for 75.1 per cent of all emails sent worldwide last year.