What is mobile ransomware?

Mobile ransomware is malware that affects your phone, and it can spread to other connected devices on your network and infect your entire organization.

Why do cybercriminals target mobile phones with ransomware?

Attackers target phones to hijack contact lists, which give them access to names, addresses and phone numbers they can use to send malicious links to other users, and to gain access to bank accounts through mobile apps. They also use smishing, a method that combines SMS messaging and phishing to send malicious links via text message.

How can you protect your phone from ransomware?

One of the most fundamental steps is partnering with the right cyber security service provider, supported by security awareness training that helps individuals recognize and respond to mobile ransomware threats. Mimecast integrates secure email services across all devices, monitoring suspicious links remotely while data is backed up in a secure cloud-based system.

Glossary

Mobile Ransomware

Mobile ransomware is malware that affects your phone. Ransomware can spread to other connected devices on your network and infect your entire organization.

How mobile ransomware works

While most ransomware attacks have taken place on computers, as mobile devices become more prevalent in the workplace, cyber criminals have begun shifting their focus to creating malware that can infect any type of device and compromise its data. This article can help you learn about mobile ransomware and how partnering with cybersecurity service providers like Mimecast can help protect your and/or your organizations’ mobile devices.

Cell phones are just as vulnerable to ransomware as any other device. Cyber criminals would take interest in infiltrating a cell phone for several reasons:

Hijacking contacts

Cyber attackers who gain access to a user's contact list could have access to names, addresses, phone numbers, and other protected information.

Once attackers gain access to your contacts list, they can then use your contacts and credentials to send text messages with malicious links to malware to other users and devices.

Banking apps and information

One of the most common reasons cyber criminals target individual cell phone users is to gain access to their bank accounts via mobile apps.

Employees in large organizations who manage bank accounts or have access to company credit cards may also be prime targets.

Therefore, it can be helpful to have an email continuity service that supports mobile email management. Mimecast’s email continuity service provides users with uninterrupted access to email from their personal devices, even when email servers are down.

Smishing

A word that combines SMS messaging and phishing, Smishing is a method cyberattackers use to send malicious links via text messages, sometimes after infiltrating a victim's contact list.

iPhone ransomware example

In May of 2014, many Apple users in the UK and Australia suddenly found their devices locked up. The price to restore access was $100.

Eventually authorities in Russia discovered two young cyber attackers in Moscow who were behind the attack. They had used a phishing technique, posing as an online video service that required users to enter their Apple IDs.

Once they had access to the devices, they were able to use the "find my phone" feature to lock access remotely to all of the victims' affected devices.

FAQs about Mobile Ransomware

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