Halloween Zombies are Everywhere - and Soon on the Device in Your Hands

Halloween Zombies are Everywhere - and Soon on the Device in Your Hands

AMSTERDAM, October 27, 2011/PRNewswire/ --

   
                  As mobile devices become as powerful as PCs,
         it is just a matter of time before they will turn into zombies

    AVG Technologies, a leading provider of Internet and mobile security,
today encourages users to ensure their mobile devices are protected from the
looming threat of mobile Zombies, a sobering phenomenon in which
commandeered devices silently work against owners and others. As Halloween
revelers turn themselves into the familiar fantasy version of these
creatures, mobile devices across the planet are fully equipped to take
actions based on instructions received for a remote cybercriminal - long
before they can be effectively tracked.

    A Zombie is an Internet-enabled computing device that has been hacked to
perform tasks under instructions from others. Most owners of zombie devices
have no idea their system literally lies in wait to be called into a range
of actions, such as:

   
    - Click fraud - waged against sites displaying pay-per-click
      advertising, essentially stealing from online retailers
    - Denial-of-service attacks - the orchestrated flooding of target
      internet addresses by a large number of computers to crash it and
      prevent access from legitimate users, often aiming to take down popular
      websites
    - Debilitating spam - spammers avoid detection and pass bandwidth
      costs to device owners
    - Harvesting of personally identifiable information (identity
      theft)
    - Spreading and/or updating new malware
    - Sending SMS to premium numbers with high charges

    "It is expected that more and more mobile devices will turn into Zombies
that will be operated by instructions received from a remote cybercriminal,"
said Yuval Ben-Itzhak, AVG's Chief Technology Officer. "Given the lack of
public awareness about the need to protect mobile devices as carefully as
PCs and the multitude of users who take zero mobile security precautions,
consumers have inadvertently created a powerful medium for sophisticated
attacks against key elements of our infrastructure. It's not just the stuff
of Halloween. It's a threat that we need to be prepared to protect from."

    According to comScore, smartphones now account for 44 percent of the UK
mobile phone market (1*). Based on market data from the ITU, this translates
to approximately 35 million devices (2*). In an analysis published on
InformationWeek, the number of Android mobile devices communicating with
known criminal organizations reached 20,000 in the first half of 2011 (3*),
a threat that only multiplies when, for example, devices join corporate
Wi-Fi networks. For hackers, the allure of tapping into millions of
potential devices is far too seductive to ignore. AVG therefore reminds
consumers that while detection is important, prevention is best. Mobile
security solutions are available and ready to work.

    1*
http://www.comscore.com/Press_Events/Press_Releases/2011/9/Android_Captures_number_2_Ranking_Among_Smartphone_Platforms_in_EU5

    2*International Telecommunications Union -
http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/ict/statistics

    3*
http://www.informationweek.com/news/security/mobile/231601419queryText=the+number+of+Android+mobile+devices+communicating+with+known+criminal+organizations+reached+202C000+in+the+first+half+of+2011

    About AVG Technologies

    AVG is a global security software maker protecting more than 100 million
active users in 170 countries from the ever-growing incidence of Web
threats, viruses, spam, cyber-scams and hackers on the Internet. AVG has
nearly two decades of experience in combating cybercrime and advanced
laboratories for detecting, pre-empting and combating Web-borne threats from
around the world. Its free, downloadable software allows novice users to
have basic anti-virus protection and then easily upgrade to greater levels
of safety and defense when they are ready. AVG has a strong reseller network
consisting of resellers, partners and distributors globally including; CNET,
Ingram Micro, and Wal-Mart.

    http://www.avg.com

    Source: http://www.avg.com/press-releases-news

Source: AVG Technologies

Contacts: United Kingdom: Lennard van Otterloo, MSL for AVG, Lennard.vanotterloo@mslgroup.com, +44(0)20-7878-3210; United States: Jeff Seedman, Ruder Finn for AVG, seedmanj@ruderfinn.com , + 1(415)249-6763; Investor Relations: Siobhan MacDermott, AVG Technologies - Investor Relations, siobhan.macdermott@avg.com, +1(415)299-2945