If recent reports are correct, the Android app market is postively infested with malware.
A Forbes article yesterday cited researchers at two German universities who wrote in a report that Android apps downloaded by millions of users, including widely used enterprise tools, contain serious security flaws. They found 41 applications on the official Google Play Market that can compromise personal data.
These flaws, they say, are related to holes in the way SSL and TLS are integrated into the apps, presumably by sloppy developers.
Meanwhile, NetworkWorld quoted Trend Micro, a major IT security firm, as saying that Android malware has increased almost six-fold in the past few months. The most common variants are fake Android apps. Plus Trend says it is seeing a a rise in “agressive adware,” which can leaks personal information.
The Forbes report did add that the German report did not look at potential malware lurking in the Apple App Store, however. For its part, Trend Micro has recently commended Apple’s approval team for plugging some of its own security holes.