Big rise in Android malware anticipated

Kaspersky Lab is focusing on Google's Android operating system for its next generation of security software.

The internet security company expects Android to be a big target for hackers in the near future.

Speaking to Computing, Nikolai Grebennikov, Kaspersky's CTO, explained that he sees a big future for Android as a platform but also as a target for hackers.

"We believe very much in the future of Android," he said.  "In September last year we knew of only two major families of malware for Android devices. But already in March this year we knew about 90 different familes of malware."

He added that the nature of the malware attacking Android is evolving to more closely resemble that which targets PCs.

"Before it was malware that tries to send texts to premium numbers. Now it's closer to malware on PCs. It tries to gather data, and send it to the hackers."

And according to Grebennikov, the trend is set to continue.

"From our perspective mobile malware is a growth area and we expect to see a lot more samples in the coming months."