Top 8 security predictions in 2012 by Fortinet

Over the past few years, FortiGuard Labs has witnessed the evolution and success of “ransomware” (an infection that holds a device “hostage” until a “ransom” payment is delivered) on the PC. Mobile malware that utilize exploits have also been observed, along with social engineering tricks that lead to root access on the infected device. With root access comes more control and elevated privileges, suitable for the likes of ransomware. FortiGuard predicts the team will see the first instances of ransomware on a mobile device in the coming year.
 

Worms, i.e., malware that is able to quickly propagate from one device to another, have by and large remained absent from the Android operating system, but FortiGuard Labs believes that will change in 2012. Unlike Cabir, the first Symbian worm discovered in 2004, Android malware developers most likely won’t be using Bluetooth or computer sync to spread out because of their limited ranges. Instead, the team believes the threat will come from either poisoned SMS messages that include a link that contains the worm or through infected links on social networks, such as Facebook and Twitter.  
 

There’s no denying that Android-based malware has gotten more diverse and complex. In the last year: FortiGuard Labs has seen Android malware use encryption, embed exploits, detect emulators and implement botnets. But what they haven’t seen yet is an example of polymorphism in action. Polymorphism is malware that is capable of automatically mutating, making it extremely difficult to identify and thus destroy. The team has previously encountered polymorphism on Windows Mobile phones and believes it’s only a matter of time before the malware appears on Android devices.