Android More Hacker Friendly Than iOS?

As smartphones become more popular, and with Android and iOS continuing to grow fast, more hack attacks are expected for all these devices. Many security experts have claimed that iPhone and iPad will be a major target for hackers in 2011 and beyond. Apparently, Android is not actually a more secure platform. Trend Micro, the security software maker, has claimed that Android phones are more vulnerable to these types of attacks than iPhone:

Android is open-source, which means the hacker can also understand the underlying architecture and source code… We have to give credit to Apple, because they are very careful about it. It’s impossible for certain types of viruses,

said Steve Chang, chairman of Trend Micro. The open source issue is only one part of the equation. Apple catches a lot of flak for being a bit tough with its app approval policy. At the same time, the company is more likely to catch malicious apps before they make it to iTunes (at least some of them).

Smartphones are the next PC, and once they’re adopted by enterprises, data loss will be a very key problem … Apple has a sandbox concept that isolates the platform, which prevents certain viruses that want to replicate themselves or decompose and recompose to avoid virus scanners,

said Mr. Chang. To be fair, Google does not seem to have a problem with third party Android app markets. With Amazon starting its own Android App Store, the company can provide the quality control that the Android Market may be missing.

Apple may not have an open platform like Google, but that does have its benefits too. As strict as Apple is with its app approval policy, malicious apps could slip through the cracks from time to time, especially as attacks on iOS platform increase. If Trend Micro is right, Android is even worse shape.