Android is the Malware king

Stefan Mileschin · 6th March 2014, 07:40

Android is paying the price of its popularity with more than 97 percent of all malware being tailored for the Google operating system.

Security firm F-Secure, which today released its 40-page Threat Report for the second half of 2013 said that the situation has become bad.

Android malware rose from 238 threats in 2012 to 804 new families and variants in 2013. Apart from Symbian, F-Secure found no new threats for other mobile platforms last year.

To be fair Android threats come from the strangest places. Of the top 10 countries reporting Android malware detections to F-Secure's systems in the second half of 2013, 75 percent of the reports originated from Saudi Arabia and India; in comparison, the five European countries in the list combined only accounted for a little over 15 percent of reported detections.

The other problem is that Android has become so popular that Malware writers have more of an interest in mounting attacks on it.

F-Secure adds that despite the extreme focus of malware authors on the Android platform, F-Secure believes it would be incorrect to say that Google hasn't been doing anything about it.

http://news.techeye.net/mobile/andro...e-malware-king

6th March 2014, 07:40	#1
Stefan Mileschin [M] Reviewer Join Date: May 2010 Location: Romania Posts: 153,541	Android is the Malware king Android is paying the price of its popularity with more than 97 percent of all malware being tailored for the Google operating system. Security firm F-Secure, which today released its 40-page Threat Report for the second half of 2013 said that the situation has become bad. Android malware rose from 238 threats in 2012 to 804 new families and variants in 2013. Apart from Symbian, F-Secure found no new threats for other mobile platforms last year. To be fair Android threats come from the strangest places. Of the top 10 countries reporting Android malware detections to F-Secure's systems in the second half of 2013, 75 percent of the reports originated from Saudi Arabia and India; in comparison, the five European countries in the list combined only accounted for a little over 15 percent of reported detections. The other problem is that Android has become so popular that Malware writers have more of an interest in mounting attacks on it. F-Secure adds that despite the extreme focus of malware authors on the Android platform, F-Secure believes it would be incorrect to say that Google hasn't been doing anything about it. http://news.techeye.net/mobile/andro...e-malware-king

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Android malware MisoSMS one of the largest botnets to date	Stefan Mileschin	WebNews	0	19th December 2013 08:52
Android is almost impenetrable to malware	Stefan Mileschin	WebNews	0	9th October 2013 11:13
Android Is Almost Impenetrable To Malware	Stefan Mileschin	WebNews	0	7th October 2013 08:38
Android malware forwards SMS to crooks	Stefan Mileschin	WebNews	0	27th May 2013 07:52
Google explains how its Android 4.2 malware scanner guards the side door	Stefan Mileschin	WebNews	0	5th November 2012 07:44
Android malware rises threefold in second quarter	Stefan Mileschin	WebNews	0	17th August 2012 08:57
Android malware writers arrested	Stefan Mileschin	WebNews	0	20th June 2012 08:24
Two Hospitals Hit With Malware	Stefan Mileschin	WebNews	0	21st December 2011 08:02
Android malware continues to rise	jmke	WebNews	0	21st November 2011 08:48
Feature: Forza Motorsport 4 review: The king is dead, long live the king!	Stefan Mileschin	WebNews	0	7th October 2011 07:51