Cyber threats and security is one of the main points that authorities at London Olympics 2012 need to take into consideration as hackers are getting more and more creative with malware attacks. Google’s Android is one mobile operating system that is referred as being plagued by most malware attacks. As London Olympics 2012 have gained popularity all over, hackers have already started to exploit this international event. Hackers and spammers have taken advantage of this event and have filled up emails everywhere with Olympic related spam. Webroot, which is an anti-malware and anti-virus solutions provider has taken out a note that warned people of various applications available due to the upsurge of events that are going on at a particular time throughout the Olympics. This goes side by side with some cyber threats that are connected to the Olympic Games 2012 that can concern all viewers. A note was even released by RSA to give people some tips as to how to deal with phishing emails and media alerts that are related to Olympics, designed to steal people’s personal information. Researchers at Webroot referred to “London Olympics Widget” that is an application designed to display collective Olympic news coverage. However, they say that this application is in fact disguised to collect user’s contact list and device ID even while they read SMS messages. Webroot warns people to be particularly careful when they download applications. In spite of all disputes related to phishing and scams, Android still remains an open source platform, which makes the mobile OS quite susceptible to such attacks. Webroot advises people to be smart and take a look at the applications’ author and then seek out the name to see if the provider is a trustworthy company or developer. During Google I/O session in June, Android security personnel had given out some tips for the developer side of things that could store more faith for consumers as well, which also includes providing a clear privacy policy.
