British Android users have been hit by an increasing number of ransomware cyber attacks this year, according to Bitdefender.
The company found that in May, 32% of all reported malware was Android ransomware.
Bitdefender predicts the number of attacks to continue rising until summer 2016.
Android ransomware victims represented 24% of cybercriminals’ targets in the early months of 2015.
Bitdefender said this sudden spike translates into increased cybercriminal interest in generating revenue by targeting the UK.
The security firm warned that new Android ransomware can completely block a device’s keys with users having to reboot or shut down the device.
Android customers affected have to boot their device in Safe Mode, the company said.
Catalin Cosoi, CSS at Bitdefender, said: "It seems that malware coders quickly adapted [Android ransomware] to the mobile OS platform and began understanding the subtleties of making an application latching onto the OS tightly. This makes them both more persistent and scarier for the average user.
"Android ransomware has drastically changed from being a small benign application that previously used to trick and scare users into thinking they have been infected, to now actively seizing control over devices and preventing users from uninstalling the malicious application. Today’s versions require a bit more technical expertise to "flush" the application from a users’ Android device."
