Mobile infection sees dramatic increase

The number of security attacks reported by mobile phone operators in 2006 jumped fivefold over the year before, according to McAfee.

According to data gleaned from more than 200 mobile operators worldwide, an overwhelming majority of 83 percent said their subscribers have been hit by some kind of mobile device infection.

"This research clearly demonstrates that mobile security is moving quickly up the industry agenda, with the number of malware incidents rising," Victor Kouznetsov, McAfee's senior vice president of mobile security.

Large-scale attacks during 2006 were most likely in Europe, Asia and the Pacific Rim. In those regions, the number of operators reporting incidents that affected more than 1,000 devices doubled during the year. Read full News