Kaspersky finds that cryptomining malware was up, financial malware down in Q1 2021

Bitcoin prices rocketed in early 2021, and so did the number of cybercriminals distributing malware to force infected devices to mine them, with numbers quadrupling from February to March alone.
Kaspersky finds that case of cryptomining malware were up, while financial malware was down in Q1 2021.

Kaspersky has published two reports detailing the state of the cybersecurity threat landscape in the first quarter of 2021. The first report, details desktop attacks and found that cryptomining malware has exploded in popularity, while the second report covering mobile devices, revealed that a popular Trojan targeting gamers has made the leap from PC to Android. 

Read the article and access the reports HERE. 

 

Apple Pay Gets a High-End Competitor

From The Motley Fool –

“Silicon Valley is in a rush to replace your credit card - well, the actual card itself. The two largest mobile operating system vendors – Google and Apple - are looking to replace plastic with their spin on the mobile wallet: Android Pay and Apple Pay, respectively. But it appears there's a third new entrant to compete with Apple on the high end while starting an intra-device rivalry with Google's Android Pay.

That's right: Google Android's most-popular luxury vendor, Samsung is testing its version of a wallet/payment system, unoriginally dubbed Samsung Pay. Samsung Tomorrow, the company's official blog site, outlines its limited test for select customers in its home country of South Korea. When it comes to handset competitor Apple, however, the company does have a rather large advantage with its Samsung Pay technology.”

Read more>>

Lloyds Bank looks to NFC technology to end automated security calls

From The Inquirer -

“LLOYDS BANK has been trailing new mobile banking technology that could bring and end to automated security calls and chip and pin readers.

The company announced that it has been experimenting with new technology called 'tap to bank' that allows owners of NFC-equipped Android smartphones to set up mobile banking by tapping a debit or credit card against the handset.

Lloyds said that this technology, which is being tested by 125 customers, could bring an end to tedious automated phone calls when it launches in the 'coming months', if the trial is well-received.”

Read more>>

Microsoft might be teaming up with one of Apple's biggest smartphone rivals in China

From Business Insider –

“Buried in the announcement that Microsoft will be releasing Windows 10 to the world this summer was an interesting tidbit — Microsoft and Chinese smartphone manufacturing giant Xiaomi are offering a program for power users to install an early version of Windows 10 on Xiaomi's Mi 4 smartphone, which runs Android.”

Read more>>

Android's Mobile Dominance Fails to Simplify Bank App Development

“Google's Android mobile operating system has grown its market share lead, according to new data from Gartner. Indeed, the research firm says the platform accounts for 74.4% of smartphone units sold worldwide during the first quarter of 2013. Furthermore, Gartner found there are almost 50% more Android smartphones in the market than a year ago.”

read more>>

Don’t move your wallet onto your phone yet

"Mobile banking on Android phones could put consumers at risk of fraud and cost banks millions a year, global IT security firm MWR InfoSecurity has warned.

MWR Labs, the research arm of MWR InfoSecurity, investigated the security standards of leading Android mobile phone brands to determine the overall exposure to risk of consumers who use mobile devices phones for online banking.

Recent research has shown that Android is now the leading phone platform with over 50% market share, driving the development of mobile banking apps for the Android Environment.

Results indicated that on some handsets as many as 64% of manufacturer added applications were exposing users to serious security issues." 

read more>>

What we are reading … 14th March 2013

Android accounts for most mobile malware, says F-Secure http://dld.bz/cpxBX

Retailer sues Visa over data breach penalties http://www.finextra.com/News/FullStory.aspx?newsitemid=24623

GoPago Sees History Repeating With mPayments Revolution http://dld.bz/cpxBW

UK govt rejects calls to tighten banking leverage rules http://dld.bz/cpT27

How to Manage Your Project Priorities http://shar.es/enmkO

JPMorgan Chase Suffers Online Banking Outage, Confirms Cyberattack http://dld.bz/cpT26

Why Basel III Matters http://dld.bz/cpxBV

What businesses can expect to see with Google Glass http://dld.bz/cpxBT

FNB's digital boom http://businesstech.co.za/news/banking/32902/fnbs-digital-boom/

Do Banks Need Intelligence Officers? http://shar.es/jLOZM

Top 5 iPhone, Android Payment Glitches Revealed

Remote check deposit and other mobile banking services are all the rage among certain iPhone- and Android-packing techies. For regular consumers, there are a lot of frustrating kinks still to be worked out. <<WATCH VIDEO>>