From anger and betrayal to embarrassment and isolation, identity theft victims, face a wide range of emotions. The reason for this is not far to seek.

Of the 76 per cent UAE residents who have lost money at the hands of cybercriminals, only a minuscule number have been able to recover some of their stolen funds according to multinational cybersecurity and anti-virus provider Kaspersky Lab. Researchers at Kaspersky Lab said the number of attacks using malicious mobile software nearly doubled in just a year. In 2018, there were 116.5 million attacks, compared to 66.4 million in 2017, with a significant increase in unique users being affected.

“In 2018, mobile device users faced what could have been the fiercest cybercriminal onslaught ever seen. Over the course of the year, we observed both new mobile device infection techniques, such as DNS hijacking, along with an increased focus on enhanced distribution schemes, like SMS spam. This trend demonstrates the growing need for mobile security solutions to be installed on smartphones – to protect users from device infection attempts, regardless of the source,” said Viсtor Chebyshev, security expert at Kaspersky Lab.

The findings of UAE-based information security Shred-it paints an equally dismal picture. A white paper issued by them suggests identity theft affected 44 per cent of the UAE population within the last five years. There may be a new victim of identity theft every three seconds in the UAE, said Shred-it.

However these depressing statistics should not prevent victims from reporting the crime to all pertinent agencies. This will not only help you restore your good name it will also help law enforcement agencies to investigate the crime and crackdown against those behind it.

All banks and telecom providers have a fraud division. Notify them immediately and maintain a log detailing the phone number, date, time of the call and the designation of the person you spoke to.

Protecting your phone’s data with a passcode, keeping operating software up to date, logging out of software that’s not in use and turning off Wi-Fi and Bluetooth when you don’t need them can go a long way in protecting you from network vulnerabilities, advises Shred-it.

Despite more devices being attacked, the good news is that number of malware files has decreased. This has led Kaspersky Lab researchers to conclude that the quality of mobile malware has become more impactful and precise. “As the world becomes more mobile, the role of smartphones in business processes and day to day life is growing rapidly,” Kaspersky Lab said. “In response, cybercriminals are paying more attention to how they are distributing malware and the attack vectors used. The channels through which malware is delivered to users and infects their devices is a key part of the success of a malicious campaign today, taking advantage of those users who do not have any security solutions installed on their phones. The success of the distribution strategies is demonstrated not only by the increase in attacks, but also the number of unique users that have encountered malware. In 2018 this figure rose by 774,000 on the previous year, to 9,895,774 affected users. Among the threats encountered, the most significant growth was in the use of Trojan-Droppers, whose share almost doubled from 8.63% to 17.21%. This type of malware is designed to bypass system protection and deliver there all sorts of malware, from banking Trojans to ransomware.

SOURCE : GULFNEWS