Apple executive Phil Schiller stirred things up last year by tweeting a link to a research report showing significant growth in mobile malware, most of which was showing up on the Android platform. He’s at it again today, tweeting a link to Cisco’s 2014 Annual Security Report.
The report, which came out late last week, notes that while overall vulnerabilities are highest since tracking began in 2000, 99 percent of all mobile malware targeted Android devices — leaving iOS devices relatively unscathed thanks to Apple’s controlling mobile ecosystem.
The report does make note of the fact that many mobile users visit phishing or social engineering sites, which any platform’s security protocols probably won’t protect them from.
An analysis of user agents by Cisco TRAC/SIO reveals that Android users, at 71 percent, have the highest encounter rates with all forms of web-delivered malware, followed by Apple iPhone users with 14 percent of all web malware encounters.
The report mentions Apple and its platforms in that paragraph, and only one other note that spam messages may mention Apple Gift Cards.
Most see Schiller’s tweet as part of Apple’s overall push to share more favorable third-party reports about the company and its platforms.
