Recent research suggests worldwide cyber crime efforts are adapting to the growing use of smartphones, with mobile malware levels 273 percent higher in the first half of 2011 than in the same period in 2010.

According to a report in Mobile Magazine, a study conducted by G Data Security Labs found that one new mobile malware strain was created every 12 seconds in the first half of this year. G Data security evangelist Eddy Willems said the statistics suggest "cyber criminals have discovered a new business model," and they are unlikely to stop anytime soon.

"We are therefore expecting another spurt of growth in the mobile malware sector in the second half of the year," he added.

The threats are becoming more severe, as well. According to G Data Security, a popular strain of mobile malware called NickiBot spies on its victims by recording phone calls and background noise before sending the information back to the controller. This can be used to track location and steal personally identifiable information for identity theft purposes.

Improvements in mobile technology have generated a higher demand for Wi-Fi access, as a recent survey showed. The average U.K. web user in particular connects to the web 10 hours per day. The growing risk of malware and identity theft may raise some concerns over network security among the increasingly mobile public. However, network administrators need to be very careful that the malware that worms its way onto users' smart devices does not wind up infecting the network, since wireless threats are a problem whether or not wireless is deployed.