Android's Malware Monopoly Continues: 472% Increase In Android Malware Since July
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How about security in new smartphone platforms these days ?? Microsoft’s Windows Phone and Apple’s iPhone situation seems to be much much better than Google’s Android. Why is it so ? Take a look at the recent reports from McAfee and Juniper Networks,
First from Juniper Networks,
“The Juniper Global Threat Center found that the months of October and November are shaping up to see the fastest growth in Android malware discovery in the history of the platform,”
“The number of malware samples identified in September increased by 28 percent over the number of the known Android malware samples. October showed a 110 percent increase in malware sample collection over the previous month and a striking 171 percent increase from what had been collected up to July 2011.”
“Google’s solution, the Android Market Security Tool, was also pirated and turned into malware in China.”
From McAfee,
Android OS solidified its lead as the primary target for new mobile malware. The amount of malware targeted at Android devices jumped nearly 37 percent since last quarter, and puts 2011 on track to be the busiest in mobile and general malware history. Nearly all new mobile malware in Q3 was targeted at Android. This follows a 76 percent rise in Android malware in Q2 of 2011.
The Android platform was the only mobile operating system for all new mobile malware in Q3. One of the most popular forms of trickery in Q3 was SMS-sending Trojans that collect personal information and steal money. Another new method of stealing user information is malware that records phone conversations and forwards them to the attacker.Â
Other types of security attacks are also on the rise. Fake Anti-Virus (AV), AutoRun and password-stealing Trojans have bounced back strongly from previous quarters, while AutoRun and passwords stealers remain at relatively constant levels.
It seems no other smartphone platform can beat Android’s Monopoly in malware distribution if it continues at this rate. Windows Phone can never ever beat Android in this security battle. Anyway, I’m happy to see Android wins in this case ! ! !
