Android security vulnerabilities increased 90 percent in past year

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Google's Android operating system is currently the No. 1 OS in the world, and with this notoriety, security attacks against these devices continues to rise.

A recent study conducted by a security solutions vendor revealed the top Android smartphone malware threats. In the past year, the firm's senior researcher Axelle Apvrille indicated the company has witnessed a 90 percent increase in Android vulnerabilities. Apple's popular iOS experienced a 25 percent increase from 2010.

"Unfortunately, we believe Android's higher market share and open development environment comes with a price - an almost six fold increase in malware targeting the operating system," said Apvrille.

The list of most common Android malware includes the Geinimi and DroidKungFu botnets, the Hongtoutou and BaseBridge Trojans and malicious JiFake message application, according to the study.

With this increase in security vulnerabilities taking place in the Android ecosystem, companies may be worried these attacks could harm their networks. As a result, organizations worldwide are expected to spend $11 billion for mobile network security, policies and applications by 2016, according to a study conducted by ABI Research.