There’s been no shortage of reports that Android malware is on the rise, and growing at alarming rates – most of which come directly from security companies! The latest of these reports comes from security firm Trend Micro.
According to the report, the firm found over 5,000 malware apps specifically targeted at Android devices at the beginning of the year – and that number has risen dramatically, to around 20,000 apps in a more recent accounting. That’s more that quadruple the number of malware threats in just over 6 months!
Even worse, the report continues, stating that there could be up to 130,000 malicious apps targeted to Android by the end of the year if the threat continues to grow at its current rate. That’s more that 25-fold growth in a one year period.
That’s a pretty horrifying growth rate – a virtual pandemic heading straight to over 50% of the smartphones in the U.S.! The report also notes that the Google Play app marketplace (which Google does attempt to curate) is often used to distribute malicious apps – in fact, they argue that Google Play (and not third-party markets) is the source of most malicious Android apps! According to the report, more than a dozen malicious apps were downloaded over 700,000 times before they were removed by Google.
Meanwhile, iOS has had a grand total of one malware attack ever – and it’s debatable whether that should even be considered malware!
Enjoy your “open” platform, Android peeps!
