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Mobile devices have become a key target for hackers, as the amount of malicious software, or malware, on the devices has soared since last year, a new report says.

More than 160,000 malware samples on mobile Internet devices were found in 2017, about 25 times more than in 2011, according to security companies and the National Computer Network Emergency Response Technical Team and Coordination Center.

More than 80 percent of the malware targeted smartphones that use the Android operating system, and most was downloaded through smartphone application stores and forums, the center said.

Security on mobile Internet devices is more serious than traditional cyberthreats, said Du Yuejin, the center's deputy chief technology officer. Hackers are increasingly exploiting downloaded software on smartphones through app stores, Du said.

"User information on smartphones is the target of hackers," Du said. "Meanwhile, a mobile device can stay online for quite a long time, which provides the time attackers need to get what they want."

Security threats come mostly from malware, but malware is difficult to detect when people download apps, he said.

The center screened about 2 million mobile software programs sold in various Chinese app stores.

About 800,000 programs had more than 7,000 malware programs, which were downloaded more than 100 million times.

Malware surfs the Internet and sends messages without the users' knowledge after stealing data, Du said.

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