Cyber thieves target Android phones - a warning

[Domo]

Cyber thieves who target Android phones are getting more sophisticated, suggests a report.

Malware makers are tailoring their creations to make the most of conditions in each territory, said the report by mobile security firm Lookout.

In some places such as Russia, Android users were far more likely to encounter malicious code, it said.

The report comes as analysis of apps on Google's Play store shows a steep rise in the number of malicious programs.

"When it comes to mobile malware, everything is now regionalised," said Marc Rogers, Lookout's principal security researcher.

Gone were the days when the hi-tech thieves spammed their creations out to everyone, he said. Now malware varied by region as it was adapted to the different conditions in those places.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-26272936

I knew that Android phones were notoriously insecure, but I had hoped that things had abated with the rollout of KitKat...

 

[Albort]

i think we should just accept the fact that nothing is safe... :\

 

[Domo]

i think we should just accept the fact that nothing is safe... :\

I guess you should be safe just so long as you don't download an app named "PayPal Vacuum"...

 

[wiigirl]

Yikes!

 

[FireDancer]

Android phone are no less secure then iPhone just as Windows is no less secure then OS X.

Malicious apps have been found in both the Google Play store and the Apple App Store. Android allows you more freedom to load unapproved apps so the numbers get skewed. Just don't allow it and you will be just as safe with an Android phone as you will be with any other phone.

As always most malicious software ends up on your computer or phone because of your behavior, not the OS.

 

[Domo]

Android phone are no less secure then iPhone just as Windows is no less secure then OS X.

Malicious apps have been found in both the Google Play store and the Apple App Store. Android allows you more freedom to load unapproved apps so the numbers get skewed. Just don't allow it and you will be just as safe with an Android phone as you will be with any other phone.

As always most malicious software ends up on your computer or phone because of your behavior, not the OS.

Actually, iOS devices have been found to be FAR more secure than Android devices. Universities determined that Google's "quantity not quality" approach opened the iPhone challenger to more security breaches by a long shot.

An old post I made still stands to scrutiny, sadly:

Of the 1,260 malware samples the team at North Carolina State University tossed at the Android OS, only 15 percent of them were detected by Google’s app verification service.

2 Universities downloaded 13,000 Google Android apps and found that 41 out of every 100 apps were insecure.

Android accounted for 79 percent of the 301 mobile threats in 2012, while just 0.7 percent of threats attacked iOS.

 

[mill4023]

Actually, iOS devices have been found to be FAR more secure than Android devices. Universities determined that Google's "quantity not quality" approach opened the iPhone challenger to more security breaches by a long shot.

I would agree.
Although it's not because Google doesn't care about security. It's because they give developers and users more freedom. With that freedom comes more risk.
Apple is much more restrictive in what they will allow an app to do and what kind of apps they will approve for their app store.

I'm an Android user and one of the reasons I switched is because I don't like being told what I cannot do with my phone. I also accept that having more freedom brings more risk.