Malicious Android apps will increaseAs a target for malicious software, Android is the Microsoft of the mobile platform.
While iPhone apps get vetted by Apple, Google’s open apps store model, which lacks code signing and a review process, makes it easy to distribute malware in apps.
In the last six months, the number of malicious Android apps has doubled to 1,000, a report from mobile security firm Lookout says.
Some malicious apps have made it to the Android Market.
Google yanked about two dozen apps containing malware in May and nearly 60 malicious apps in March.
Google moves quickly when problems are reported, but removing apps after-the-fact means there may be users who have downloaded them already.
To be fair, the likelihood that the average Android user will encounter malware is very, very slim because most people avoid third-party sites where they are required to allow apps from unknown sources to be downloaded, and are thus assuming the risk.
The hot apps market, in general, is problematic because mobile developers typically don’t have experience creating secure software.
An unnamed hacker claimed to have remotely breached a system at a Texas water plant, as well as systems in Europe.
Given how easy it is to find SCADA equipment with just a Google search, all the holes the SCADA systems seem to have, and that researchers say it is relatively easy to exploit the weaknesses, you can expect more attacks on critical infrastructure systems in the coming year. >>CNET News
