Smartphones easy game for hackers

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Mobile devices have become a key target for hackers, as the amount of malicious software, or malware, on the devices has soared since last year, a new report says.

More than 160,000 malware samples on mobile Internet devices were found in 2017, about 25 times more than in 2011, according to security companies and the National Computer Network Emergency Response Technical Team and Coordination Center.

More than 80 percent of the malware targeted smartphones that use the Android operating system, and most was downloaded through smartphone application stores and forums, the center said.

Security on mobile Internet devices is more serious than traditional cyberthreats, said Du Yuejin, the center's deputy chief technology officer. Hackers are increasingly exploiting downloaded software on smartphones through app stores, Du said.

"User information on smartphones is the target of hackers," Du said. "Meanwhile, a mobile device can stay online for quite a long time, which provides the time attackers need to get what they want."

Security threats come mostly from malware, but malware is difficult to detect when people download apps, he said.

The center screened about 2 million mobile software programs sold in various Chinese app stores.

About 800,000 programs had more than 7,000 malware programs, which were downloaded more than 100 million times.

Malware surfs the Internet and sends messages without the users' knowledge after stealing data, Du said.

"Mobile users should enhance their awareness of the problem, but it's more important to urge our security companies to take precautionary measures," he said.

Zhang Zhenghua, chief adviser of the cloud ecology system at Baidu, a major online search engine, agreed, saying his company has invested 100 million yuan ($16.3 million) on improving cybersecurity.

So far, the company has identified 60 million fake websites and kicked 170,000 unqualified users off line, Zhang said.

By April, China had 808 million mobile Internet users, an annual increase of 20 percent.

The number of people surfing the Internet with smartphones is now 787 million, according to the China Association of Communication Enterprises.

Questions:

1. What is the latest target for hackers?

2. How many mobile Internet users are in China?

3. How many are using smartphones to surf the Internet?

Answers:

1. Mobile devices.

2. 808 million.

3. 787 million.

About the broadcaster:

Nelly Min is an editor at China Daily with more than 10 years of experience as a newspaper editor and photographer. She has worked at major newspapers in the U.S., including the Los Angeles Times and the Detroit Free Press. She is also fluent in Korean.