1 Million Malicious Apps

In case you missed it – and with all that is going on this week, it would be hard not to – a new study by Trend Micro indicates that by 2014, cyber hackers will have created more than 1 million malicious apps for the Android.

See the full story here.

This is big news for several reasons:

1. Androids account for nearly 80% of all smart phones planet-wide. This means you,
2.  Most smart phone owners do not even have virusprotection on their phones and they don’t come pre-installed,
3. And yet, many people use their phones for business, banking, and other “secure” activities.

And, don't think that because you have an iPhone, you are immune to the problem. Apple wants you to think the iPhone is immune (click here), but some do not agree (click here).

See, the way that apps markets are set up for Android, Apple, and Microsoft, is that you can create any kind of app you want and post it in the market place. Maybe the app is checked and maybe it is not. Either way, most hackers know that it’s not the initial app that gets you; rather, it is the malicious app “update”. This is because most people with allow updates without even a question.

In a sense, you infect yourself. Pretty cool.

Remember, awareness is half the battle.