Continuing security problems with the Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android mobile operating system (OS) has not dampened enthusiasm for the ubiquitous OS, much to the chagrin of mobile OS competitors Nokia (NYSE:NOK) and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL).
A security bug highlighted last month in some reports posed as a text message management application and sends messages to premium-rate numbers in Europe and North America. This is not a new problem for China and Russia, where these type of bugs have been stealing money from smartphone users for years.
“The appearance of several applications which use premium rate [text] messages and target users from completely different countries leads us to the conclusion that it’s no longer just a problem in Russia and China, unfortunately,” wrote Kaspersky Lab analyst Denis Maslennikov.
The fake application, dubbed Trojan-SMS.AndroidOS.Foncy, is downloaded by a user who thinks it is a legitimate text message management application. However, once it is downloaded, it displays the message that it is not compatible with the user’s Android version. Then, the user’s mobile account is emptied by calling premium-rate numbers, Maslennikov explained.
“Unfortunately, today [text messaging] Trojans are one the easiest ways for cyber criminals to make easy money fast. Malicious use of premium rate [text messaging] services is spreading around the world, and I’m pretty sure it’s not going to stop any time soon,” he wrote.
The growing popularity of open-source Android has attracted the attention of cyber criminals, who have increasingly targeted their malware for the OS. For example, there has been a breathtaking 472% increase in Android malware since July, according to the Juniper Global Threat Center.
A recent report by McAfee found that 63% of the new mobile malware discovered in the second quarter of 2011 was for Android. The report blames the open Android Market, where software developers can hide their malicious creation virtually undetected.
Yet, Android continues to increase its share of the smartphone operating system market, reaching 52.3% in the third quarter, double its share a year earlier, according to Gartner’s most recent figures. Nokia’s Symbian OS, while second in market share at 16.9%, took a nosedive from last year, when it held a 36.3% market share; Apple’s iOS came in third at 15.0%, down slightly from last year.
So, Google, keep up the good work?
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