A Malwarebytes threat analysis has uncovered an alarming 692% surge in SMS-based attacks against Android users. Pieter Arntz, a malware intelligence researcher at Malwarebytes, says this represents “an era marked not just by volume, but by coordination and precision.” Android attackers aren’t “throwing malware at users and hoping for results,” Arntz warned, but they are “building ecosystems.” Between April and May there was an incredible 692% surge in SMS-based malware attacks. Although there are seasonal factors to consider, with it being the tax seasons and all, Arntz said the surge was “a jump that we can’t just chalk up to coincidence.” Instead, Arntz sees this as reflecting a shift in strategy from the attackers who are scaling their operations to exploit “both human psychology and systemic weak points.“ Android attackers are “playing the long game now — developing monetization strategies for every type of data they can harvest; every user behavior they can exploit,” Shahak Shalev, senior director of research and development for online platforms at Malwarebytes, warned.