Trend Micro says Android less secure than iPhone (iOS)

When it comes to mobile platform security, Trend Micro says that iOS is more secure than it’s open-source competitor, Android. The reason is because of Android’s open-source nature, making it easier for hacker’s to, well, hack, than Apple’s iOS.

Trend Micro Chairman Steve Chang said the following to Bloomberg yesterday,

“Android is open-source, which means the hacker can also understand the underlying architecture and source code.”

That makes sense enough, but for the most part, Google has done a great job keeping the OS secure. That said, it’s come across some issues recently, which should spur users into being more wary of mobile security. I wouldn’t go as far to say that this spells the end for the platform, but instead indicates the inherent problems with being a more open platform than Apple’s iOS.

So, what has Google done to protect your mobile security? Google “sandboxes” applications with Android, meaning that a user has to specifically allow apps access to certain phone functions and information. But with recent viruses, these permissions have been bypassed, making the user vulnerable. This should signal a major turning point in Google’s security plan. The keyword is should, but we’re not really sure what they will do, or even what they can do.

iOS devices are secure as long as they aren’t jailbroken, but then again, why wouldn’t you jailbreak it? Rooted Android devices are even more at risk, and it’ll be interesting to see what Google cooks up to combat these issues. Rooted Android users may be out of luck, as they make the choice of doing this to their phone, and take full responsibility for their actions once the devices’ warranty is voided. Of course, rooted or unrooted, users have some mobile security app options available to them, like Lookout Security.

In the end, Google needs to step up their security with their platform, as it’s only going to keep growing. Over time, Google will get the kinks out of the code in Android, but how long will that take? Needless to say, I won’t be dropping my Android phone anytime soon, but this growing concern over mobile security is on more than one mind.

Trend Micro conveniently released their own security solution for the Android platform last week. You can find it in the Market for $3.99.

[Via: CNET]

About The Author

Blake Stimac

Blake was born in Beaumont, Texas, about 100 miles away from Houston. Even as a youngster, technology came to him very naturally, tinkering with anything he could. His passion of technology grew with mobile phones when he dreamed that the capabilities of phones would eventually make one's life much easier. Since then it's been his mission to advocate the push of mobile technology to anyone who will listen.

Schneider2020

The grosse dying/disabled Android photo was a but over the top. That being said Android’s vulnerability is kind of obvious due to it’s “more opened” nature. As with any developing OS this is one of many issues Google needs to address in order to make Android a continued success. It only takes one bad version to sour users to an OS (Vista, Win Mobile 6, etc.. I’m sure the list goes on).
http://twitter.com/JazMac Jazmac

I’ll say it. BULLSHIT!
Chairman Steve Chang is trying to sell product and the only way his think he is most important software can make inroads is to create a panic. Same basic bullshit Steve Jobs pulls when he frightens the public into purchasing Mac computers with claims it is unaffected by “PC” viruses. Never disclosing that no pc designed software, virus or otherwise will not run natively on a Mac. Macs are ONLY affected by malware written to affect Macs.

But I digress.

IOS is understood and it has been forever jailbroken. Somebody alert the Chairman.
adamite

Of course it is. That’s the nature of open source versus bounded operating.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Martin-Hill/717947739 Martin Hill

Android is far more insecure than iOS by design, though not necessarily because of its open source nature and is already suffering the fallout despite having half the installed base worldwide.

The proof is in the pudding. It is Android and the Android Marketplace that has suffered multiple malware outbreaks such as:

- More than 50 Android mobile banking apps in the Android Marketplace each targeted at a specific financial institution whose true purpose was phishing and identity theft.
- A wallpaper app that was downloaded 4 million times which maliciously forwarded user details to a location in China before being discovered.
- the Geinimi botnet app that is infecting numerous Android apps on Chinese app stores and spreading around the world.
- Trojan-SMS.AndroidOS.FakePlayer.a, the Russian “Movie player” app that surreptitiously sent premium SMS texts from unsuspecting users
- Brand new HTC Magic phones infected with the Mariposa botnet and Conficker and a Lineage password-stealing Trojan that attempt to infect Windows PCs when connected over USB.
- Mobile Spy and Mobile Stealth
- SMS Message Spy Pro and SMS Message Spy Lite spyware apps
- The 45,000 spamware apps clogging up the Android Marketplace (as noted by Appbrain)

In contrast, despite hosting over a third of a million apps and 7 billion downloads, there have been Zero pieces of malware come through the iOS App Store. A 100% safety record. Not bad, and good reassurance for a public tired of virus-riddled PCs.

Then of course there is the side-loading of apps with absolutely any nasty thing being possible in Android and no review of apps at all in the Marketplace and we are talking a completely different level of insecurity and exposure.

iOS requires signed code and enforces strict sand-boxing and provides hardware encryption all of which Android lacks. Instead Android throws up a Vista-like screen of permissions for each app which the average user is not necessarily going to read or understand.
All developers on the iOS store have far more stringent monetary and ID checks to post apps so the chances of mischief are so much less as to be negligible in comparison.

ps. Of course if you jail-break your iPhone, all bets are off.

-Mart