Report: Android malware on the rise

According to a report from security services provider McAfee, the amount of malware targeting Android devices has increased by 76 per cent since the first quarter of the year. In just three months, Google's Android operating system has become the most targeted mobile platform; McAfee's first quarter report listed Android at number three behind Symbian OS and Java 2 Mobile Edition, which remain the most targeted. McAfee Labs Senior VP Vincent Weafer said, "This year we've seen record breaking numbers of malware, especially on mobile devices, where the uptick is in direct correlation to popularity."

McAfee, now part of Intel, also says that the first half of this year was "the busiest ever" in malware history. In the first six months of 2011, it observed the first appearance of fake anti-virus software on Mac OS X, as well as "a significant uptick in rootkits". In its report, the company states that it identified approximately 12 million unique samples in the first half of the year, a 22 per cent increase over 2010, noting that it expects its malware collection to reach a total of 75 million samples, including variants, by the end of the year.

More details can be found in the company's quarterly threats report, titled "McAfee Threats Report: Second Quarter 2011".

See also:

• McAfee Q2 2011 Threats Report Shows Significant Growth for Malware on Mobile Platforms, press release from McAfee.
  

(crve)