Report Warns of Increasing Android Ransomware Attacks

USA - English

• USA - Deutsch
• USA - Français

MCLEAN, Va., July 28, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- CYREN (NASDAQ: CYRN) today published its July 2014 Internet Threats Trend Report.  Among its findings, the report warns of ransomware that continues to target Android users with consistent vigor. To download the entire report, visit: http://tinyurl.com/TrndRptQ2.

CYREN researchers predict that a large wave of Android ransomware has yet to hit. Two cases of first-ever Android ransomware appeared thus far this year, both delivered via drive-by download from a pornographic web page.

One version of the ransomware attack takes over the device and displays a message stating the user had been watching child pornography and that it now demands payment of a fine to use the device again. The second version of Android ransomware is a bit more sophisticated, as it encrypts files on the device's secure digital (SD) card and blocks phone use by continually displaying a similar message and demanding a fee to decrypt the blocked files.

"It's clear that we will continue to see growing  numbers of Android ransomware attacks, as we literally tracked their growing complexity from month to month during Q2 of this year," said Lior Kohavi, chief technology officer at CYREN. "These attacks are growing at an alarming rate, allowing this form of extortion to impact more and more victims due to most people's consistently low level of concern for security while using their phones. And yet, ironically, our phones today play an integral role in day-to-day life – making this form of attack that much more successful for the bad guys. When it comes to mobile devices, users need to maintain the same level of security and awareness that they hold for their desktops."

The report also highlights spam-related statistics for Q2 of 2014:

• Spam levels remained essentially unchanged at an average of 55 billion emails per day for the quarter, although June experienced a noticeable drop to the lowest level in five years.
• Pharmaceutical spam still leads the pack, accounting for 43% of all total spam. Job offers hold steady in second place, with 22% of total spam. The notable shift in topics is the sudden increase in "pump-and-dump" stock spam, accounting for 17% of all spam emails sent in the Q2.
• While Spain (8%), Argentina (8%), and the United States (6%) continued to be among the leading spam-producing countries this quarter, the surprise was Vietnam, which accounted for 7% of all spam. Germany rounded out the top five, producing 5% of all spam. Noticeably missing during Q2 was India.
• The Russian Federation led the zombie countries at 13.1%, following by India at 10.7%. Interestingly, this is the first time India has been deposed from the top spot in more than four years. Peru joined the list this quarter, while Spain fell off.

The CYREN Internet Threats Trend Report is based on a comprehensive analysis of billions of daily transactions handled by the CYREN GlobalView Cloud Platform.

About CYREN
CYREN is a leading provider of cloud-based security solutions that deliver powerful protection through global data intelligence. Regardless of the device or its location, CYREN's easily deployed web, email, and anti-malware products deliver uncompromising protection in both embedded and Security as a Service (SecaaS) deployments. Organizations rely on CYREN's cloud-based threat detection and proactive security analytics to provide up-to-date spam classifications, URL categorization and malware detection services. The CYREN GlobalView™ Cloud Platform leverages Recurrent Pattern Detection™ technologies to protect more than 550 million users in 190 countries. CYREN is traded on the NASDAQ Capital Market and the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) under the trading symbol "CYRN." Visit the CYREN GlobalView Security Center or go to www.CYREN.com.

Blog: blog.cyren.com 
Facebook: www.facebook.com/CyrenWeb 
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/cyren 
Twitter: twitter.com/CyrenInc

This press release contains forward-looking statements, including projections about our business, within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. For example, statements in the future tense, and statements including words such as "expect," "plan," "estimate," "anticipate," or "believe" are forward-looking statements. These statements are based on information available to us at the time of the press release; we assume no obligation to update any of them. The statements in this press release are not guarantees of future performance and actual results could differ materially from our current expectations as a result of numerous factors, including business conditions and growth or deterioration in the internet security market, technological developments, products offered by competitors, availability of qualified staff, and technological difficulties and resource constraints encountered in developing new products,  as well as those risks described in the company's Annual Reports on Form 20-F and reports on Form 6-K, which are available through www.sec.gov.  

U.S. Investor Contact:
Monica Gould
The Blueshirt Group
212 871 3927                                                         
[email protected]  

CYREN Company Contact EMEA:
Simone Leyendecker
Regional Marketing Manager EMEA/APAC
+49 30 520 056 278
[email protected] 

CYREN Company Contact:                                                                     
Mike Myshrall, Interim CFO                                                                                  
CYREN                                                                                                    
+1 703 760 3320
[email protected] 

CYREN Media Contact:
Matthew Zintel
Zintel Public Relations
+1 281 444 1590
[email protected]

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140723/129960

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140120/SF48846LOGO

SOURCE CYREN