India emerges as most targeted nation for mobile malware attacks: Report

 The report, released by cloud security firm Zscaler Inc, was based on analysis of 20 billion mobile threat transactions captured by the team between June 2023 and May 2024.

SNS | New Delhi | December 3, 2024 : India emerged as the most targeted nation for mobile malware attacks, surpassing the United States and Canada, a latest report by Zscaler said.

The report, released by cloud security firm Zscaler Inc, was based on analysis of 20 billion mobile threat transactions captured by the team between June 2023 and May 2024.

India accounted for 28 per cent of global mobile malware attacks, surpassing the US (27.3 per cent) and Canada (15.9 per cent). This marks a sharp rise from its third-place ranking last year.

This further highlights the pressing need for Indian organisations to boost their cybersecurity defences amid rapid digitalisation and escalating cyber threats.

As per the Zscaler ThreatLabz 2024 Mobile IoT, and OT Threat Report, over 200 malicious apps were detected on the Google Play Store, collectively installed more than eight million times.

Zscaler recorded a 45 per cent year-on-year increase in malware transactions involving Internet of Things (IoT) devices, primarily driven by botnets, networks of compromised devices often used for large-scale cyberattacks.

The report found that inadequate legislation or enforcement of laws related to cybercrime poses significant challenges around the world. Especially as cybercriminals can often cross international boundaries and are constantly evolving their methods to stay ahead of security and legal systems.

Notably, India has witnessed a sharp increase in sophisticated phishing campaigns, particularly targeting mobile users of top private banks.

However despite its vulnerabilities, India has managed to reduce its role as a malware origin point. It ranked seventh in the Asia–Pacific (APAC) region, an improvement from fifth place last year.