For years the conventional wisdom was that smart phones, and especially MAC devices, could be used with virtually no risk of getting a virus or being the target of malware. This is one of the reasons why many people would turn away from Windows, which has long been plagued by these types of things.
According to a new report from Malwarebytes, however, it seems that this may not be the case any longer. The data that they published was gathered from the first half of 2017, and found that the number of malware cases on Android devices went up by 5% in just this short time period. The biggest risk for these devices was a 138% increase in ransomware that occurred in the second quarter alone.
Mac devices also saw a huge increase in online risks. In fact, there were more new types of malware for Mac devices in the first two quarters of 2017 than there was in all of 2016 combined.
Thomas Reed, a director of Mac and mobile at Malwarebytes said on this topic, “What a lot of Mac experts tell you even today is, ‘Macs don’t get viruses… You just need to be careful with what websites you go to.’ And that’s not really good advice anymore, if it ever was.”
This is a big issue for computer, tablet, and smartphone users in general. Users of these devices have long been more willing to click links in emails and take other actions because they assumed they were safe based on the type of device they were on. As this confidence becomes reduced, marketers may notice that fewer people are willing to open marketing emails or click on the links.
Of course, this is just one potential problem that marketers need to be aware of. Anytime there is a significant change to the security or safety of online environments, it is important to learn about it and determine how it will impact your business.
