02 October 2024

Zimperium’s 2024 Global Mobile Threat Report highlights critical mobile threat trends, uncovering a significant rise in ‘mishing’ – also known as mobile targeted phishing – a technique that employs various tactics specifically designed to exploit vulnerabilities in mobile devices and users. 82% of phishing sites now target mobile devices.

As cybercriminals increasingly adopt a mobile-first attack strategy, they leverage a multitude of techniques to infiltrate enterprise systems by targeting weak, unsecured, and unmanaged mobile endpoints, recognizing mobile as a major entry point to corporate networks and sensitive data.

Cybercriminals are crafting their attacks to exploit the trust employees generally have in their mobile devices. The zLabs researchers found that 76% of phishing sites targeting enterprises are using HTTPS, a secure communication protocol that leads victims to believe the website on their device is legitimate. Employees are less likely to notice these phishing attempts because of their smaller screen sizes and less visible security indicators, such as hidden URL bars.

The success of mishing sites lies in their hit-and-run approach, where cybercriminals can launch deceptive domains rapidly, then have them disappear before they are ever detected, creating significant challenges for CISOs and their teams. The researchers found that around one-quarter of mobile phishing sites become operable less than 24 hours after their creation, launching malicious activities almost immediately.

“It is undeniable that mobile devices and applications have become the most critical digital channels to protect in our organizations,” said Shridhar Mittal, Chief Executive Officer, Zimperium. “In today’s digital age, where 71% of employees leverage smartphones for work tasks, enterprises must effectively protect their mobile endpoints by adopting a multi-layered security strategy including mobile threat defense and mobile app vetting. Our zLabs researchers meticulously analyzed the nature of mobile attacks, uncovering an attack surface within enterprises that requires a strategic and mobile-centered response.”

Along with the rise in mishing, zLabs researchers unveiled the dangers of sideloading apps – the practice of installing mobile apps on a device that are not from the official app stores. Financial services organizations saw 68% of its mobile threats attributed to sideloaded apps. In fact, zLabs researchers found that mobile users who engage in sideloading are 200% more likely to have malware running on their devices than those who do not. Riskware and trojans, applications that disguise themselves as legitimate apps, are the most common malware families found.

Despite frequent updates, enterprises are finding it difficult to manage updates across all devices, highlighting the need for proactive mobile security strategies beyond platform updates.