7.7 million consumers with $221.5 billion in assets are at risk from mobile malware, according to a report by Javelin Strategy & Research.

The 2017 Mobile Banking Malware Report explores the spread of malware on mobile applications. It says there is an “urgent need for financial institutions to begin security apps and adapting authentication before the threat of mobile malware fully migrates to Western markets”.

Javelin's introduction to the report says that mobile malware has already “created chaos in China and India” and argues it's a matter of time before this happens in Western markets too – so the time to act is now. The problem, says Javelin, is that mobile malware can undermine the most common forms of authentication used by financial institutions in the US, including passwords, security questions, and SMS-delivered temporary pass codes.

This article in Let's Talk Payments chimes very much with the growing importance of investing in protecting businesses from cyber attacks. It quotes a figure of global businesses losing $500 billion per year to cyber fraud. As a result, the cybersecurity market is also booming. One online security expert estimates the market will grow to as much as $200 billion by 2020.

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CTMfile take: Cybersecurity risks are growing and it's a struggle to keep up with efforts to protect sensitive data. As mobile apps become more prevalent, this risk and the complexity of protecting financial or personal data will grow. Mobile malware is something treasurers need to keep up to date with, particularly as technology develops and we increasingly want to check and control our work on the go.