Mobile threats are an important consideration in any security strategy, especially as hybrid working environments and bring-your-own-device (BYOD) setups are popular in modern organizations. Mobile security leader Zimperium recently published its 2025 Global Mobile Threat Report, detailing the most pressing techniques in the mobile-based threat landscape of today. Mobile attacks are increasingly common and pose severe risks as threat actors continuously attempt to take advantage of under-protected vectors. Organizations and individuals alike must understand the mobile threat landscape in their cyber protection strategies.
Outdated Operating Systems: A Silent, Widening Threat
The use of outdated operating systems in critical areas presents a significant threat to many organizations. The report reveals that 50% of devices are running on outdated OS versions, an error that can increase exposure to known vulnerabilities and enable bad actors to compromise devices and networks. Whether individuals and organizations are choosing to postpone or forgo updates for some reason, or whether patching outdated software just falls between the cracks, many fail to effectively keep their operating systems up-to-date.
Extended patch cycles give threat actors more time to exploit weaknesses before they are fixed. The longer the period of time between when a vulnerability is discovered and patched and when the patch is implemented, the more opportunity there is for cybercriminals to launch attacks, taking advantage of known gaps in security.
Mobile Phishing Goes AI-Native
One of the most tried-and-true methods for mobile attacks is mobile phishing, or mishing. Phishing and other social engineering attacks are longstanding favorites for many threat actors, as these tactics allow attackers to exploit the human element. Deceiving a single user in an organization can grant attackers access to sensitive internal systems and data, often with less effort than finding technical vulnerabilities.
Mishing attacks account for 1 out of every three mobile threats. Of these, SMS phishing (smishing) is the most common, making up two-thirds of mishing attacks, representing a 22% increase year-over-year. Video phishing (vishing) has risen 28% since last year’s report. A newer tactic growing in popularity is phishing that leverages PDF attachments, often as part of a smishing attack, driven by AI enhancements and relying on user trust in PDF file security.
Third-Party SDKs: The Supply Chain You Can’t See
Mobile threats can be particularly insidious, and a major factor in this is the fact that software development kits (SDKs) are often sold precompiled, with partial or missing software bills of material (SBOMs). Over 60% of Android and iOS SDKs are opaque binaries like this, reducing visibility into the software supply chain and hindering security efforts. Developers test open-source versions in development stages, but at release, they ship binaries, breaking the trust model and opening up software to unknown vulnerabilities.
Attackers exploit this lack of visibility and transparency by poisoning components to compromise the mobile supply chain. Organizations using SDKs presumed to be trustworthy may find that the software contains threats within components that they cannot see or isolate for remediation.
Sideloading: The Trojan Horse Inside the Enterprise
Sideloading, or installing apps on a mobile device outside of the official app stores, also leaves devices open to malicious activity from within. According to the Zimperium report, 23.5% of enterprise mobile devices contain sideloaded apps, meaning that not only individual users but entire organizations are at risk from these applications.
Repackaged versions of legitimate apps are embedded with malicious features to bypass the traditional processes for vetting apps. This serves the dual purposes of circumventing official app store rules for ensuring the security of apps and using the names or imagery of trusted apps to lower the guard of their targets. These sideloaded apps can introduce malicious elements like malware, spyware, and other invasions of privacy and security.
Expert Perspectives
Security professionals have weighed in on the trends in the mobile threat landscape and the importance of mobile security. “While improved device resilience and security against malware is very positive, app producers and organizations that rely on mobile devices must understand the risk of the software architecture and code implementation on these devices and take action,” says Adam Brown, Managing Consultant at Black Duck. “Otherwise, the weaknesses introduced at that stage result in vulnerabilities and therefore breaches.”
Darren Guccione, CEO and Co-Founder at Keeper Security, comments on measures for protecting against mobile threats: “Organizations must adopt a layered security approach to combat such attacks. Employee education is vital for raising awareness about mobile phishing attempts, teaching users to verify sender details, avoid clicking on suspicious links, and independently confirm shipping information by navigating to official channels like the company website or app directly. Implementing Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) adds a critical barrier to prevent unauthorized access even if credentials are compromised. Zero-trust security frameworks with Privileged Access Management (PAM) solutions further mitigate risks by restricting access to sensitive systems, ensuring only authorized users can interact with critical data.”
Rethinking Mobile Security in 2025
Mobile security is often overlooked in favor of security measures like traditional endpoint detection and response (EDR) tools, which organizations feel they can rely on to protect against a range of threats. Unfortunately, these tools fall short of protecting against mobile threats. It is crucial for organizations to invest in robust mobile threat defense platforms, runtime analysis, and phishing simulations to prevent a range of mobile attacks. Employee security awareness education and policy enforcement are critical pillars in the fight against mobile threats.
