Mobile threats are set to rise in 2013, as hackers adapt to developing security methods and advance their strategies. According to Small Business Computing, BYOD programs and the widespread use of mobile apps are helping hackers to complete attacks, giving them new avenues for theft that haven't had time to develop optimal security measures. However, as cyber threats increase, mobile risk management services are expected to evolve as well.

Nondisclosure
One of the biggest hazards to data security occurs when employees fail to report known threats or breaches to the government. This happens for several reasons, but often because workers feel they will be blamed for the leak.

Gartner research shows that, more often than not, security breaches result from employee errors, so it makes sense that a worker would be hesitant to report a hack. However, nondisclosure is quickly becoming impossible, as data breaches today can affect hundreds or thousands of unsuspecting individuals. As PhysBizTech puts it, the stakes are now too high for workers to keep quiet about their mistakes. Some new threats are impossible to combat without security or government consultants.

"If we've learned one thing from the changing climate of data security in 2012, it is that 2013 will definitely not be a time to employ the same old tactics," said Tim Ryan, managing director at Kroll Advisory. "Boards of directors are becoming more engaged on this subject, in part because it deals with corporate risk and also because the regulators are on the lookout. 2013 will require a review of information security governance, identification of information risk and controls, and preparation for the inevitable - a breach of sensitive data, a looming threat for every organization."

Spambots
Android-based spambots have risen in number significantly within the past couple of years, but the new Android OS isset to come out at the end of 2013 promises to amend many of the company's darker days. Until then, users will have to grapple with spambots, malicious third parties that attach themselves onto software on the smartphone's app store and data leaks from the device over time.

One particularly complex spambot, nicknamed SpamSoldier, is piggybacking its way onto phones through free video games and software. Upon download, SpamSoldier removes the app's icon from the phone to trick the user into thinking it loaded incorrectly, spurring them to download it multiple times. However, the application has already been sending outgoing spam messages to friends and family. When these confused individuals message back to ask about strange messages, SpamSoldier automatically intercepts the messages, keeping the device's owner in the dark to any illegal activities.

Businesses should pay close attention to changing security trends this year, as Gartner predicts the landscape to fundamentally change. For businesses offering BYOD, mobile data management programs could prove particularly effective.