Mobile ads pose bigger malware threat than Porn: Study

Web advertising has rapidly emerged as the top mobile threat vector, surpassing pornography, reveals a Blue Coat research report. In 2013, malvertising outstripped pornography as the number one mobile content leading to malware, more than tripling its threat since last year.

"One in every five times a mobile user is directed to malware, it is through Web ads," the report state based on an analysis of more than 75 million users worldwide.

[caption id="attachment_75143" align="alignleft" width="380"] Representational image: Reuters[/caption]

Pornography is the most potent threat to mobile users. Requests for pornography on mobile devices don't even reach one percent of all requested content, yet it accounts for more than 16 percent of all attacks. For comparison, users are being served far more Web ads (12 percent of requested content), with only a slightly higher (20 percent) rate of infection.

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Recreation categories (shopping, entertainment, sports/recreation) account for 11.74 percent of all content requested by mobile users. For desktop users, recreational content is just 6.69 percent.

Shopping on mobile devices is now the fifth most popular activity, representing more than seven percent of the all mobile activity, making it a prime target for cybercriminals that are looking for popular watering holes to exploit unsuspecting consumers, the report concluded.