The popularity of apps on smartphones has made them an effective target for the spreading of computer viruses, the city's leading online safety watchdog has warned.
More than 2,000 items of malware, or malicious software, are known to have targeted smartphones in Hong Kong, says Roy Ko Wai-Tak, manager of the Hong Kong Computer Emergency Response Team.
'As the number of malware on smartphones is increasing, so will the number of malicious apps,' he said.
A report conducted in July by Symantec, a leading security software maker, found that 42 per cent of respondents were not aware of mobile device security.
About 40 per cent of mobile phones are not even password protected.
There are almost 14 million mobile users - amounting to a mobile penetration rate of up to 200 per cent - in Hong Kong. On average, every person in the city has two cellphones. Among all mobile phone users, more than 50 per cent use smartphones.