Wireless and Mobile Device Security, 2nd Edition

Malware on Android Devices

When it comes to mobile malware, cybercriminals have focused their efforts on the market leader: Android. In fact, 90 percent of all malware targets the Android operating system (OS). Android competitors, such as Apple iOS, barely register on the scale. Despite this obvious threat, Android has built up huge market share in the consumer sector, capturing more than 85.6 percent of the global market at the time of this writing.

Although Android’s dominance in the market is a factor in why cybercriminals have targeted that OS so vigorously, it is not the only one. The main driver is that the Android OS is an open source system. This is in contrast with Apple iOS, which is an infamously closed system.

Apple locks down and ...