Most people have not realised the importance of protecting their mobile devices from malware attacks by cyber-criminals according to Europol's European Cybercrime Centre (EC3), which launched a joint Mobile Malware Awareness Campaign today as part of the European Cyber Security Month.
This week 22 EU Member States (Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, France, Germany, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain and the United Kingdom), three non-EU countries (Colombia, Norway and Ukraine) plus two EU agencies (ENISA and eu-LISA) in cooperation with several public and private partners will be raising awareness about this growing threat. This pan-European endeavour will encompass Press conferences, school lectures, educational workshops and training courses, online quizzes and live chats on social media.
An overview of the threat and key vulnerabilities of the mobile devices developed by Europol's European Cybercrime Centre is available to download in 20 languages. It explains how to securely download apps, conduct internet banking, connect to WI-FI and avoid becoming a victim of mobile ransomware.
Rob Wainwright, Director of Europol, comments: “Law enforcement and our industry partners continue to report the proliferation of mobile malware, which is now as complex as PC malware. The use of security software and the reporting of attacks will give both law enforcement and the security industry an overall clearer picture and thereby a greater capacity to mitigate the threat. We need to send an awareness message to citizens and business, and this global campaign is the first step to create a common alliance between public and private sectors within the EU and beyond.”
More than 45 partners from the internet security industry, financial institutions, national Ministries and CERTs (Computer Emergency Response Teams) are supporting this campaign at national level.
