About 97.5% of all mobile data attacks targeted Android devices in the third quarter of this year, according to a Kaspersky Lab report.
The security agency has detected over 500 million attacks during the quarter.
The US, Russia and Germany led the top ten countries that accounted for 81.5% of the web resources used to distribute malware.
Kaspersky Lab virus analyst Viktor Chebyshev said the majority of Android malware is designed to steal money or, as a secondary aim, steal personal data.
"All the familiar infection, distribution and cover-up mechanisms are swiftly migrating from PCs," Chebyshev added.
"To date, cybercriminals are doing all they can to steal as much as possible. Virus writers are likely to keep increasing the number of botnets, infecting more and more Android users."
In June, the company traced the new Svpeng trojan, which can access users’ bank account directly from a smartphone.
The malware checks users’ account balances through a mobile banking service, receiving a reply offering to top up the victim’s mobile account, and then stealing money from the bank account by sending it to another account.
In September, the agency discovered cases of third-party botnets being used to distribute trojans that increased the area of infection and was key to the spread of Obad, which is considered the most sophisticated Android trojan.
Kaspersky Lab has also detected Spveng, which allows perpetrators to check an account balance using mobile banking services by infecting the victim’s smartphone, then allowing them to steal money.
During the quarter, Kaspersky detected an active cyber-espionage campaign named Kimsuky targeted against South Korean think tanks.
The Kimsuky attackers were found to be interested in organisations based in South Korea as well as two groups in China.
