Hackers find rich pickings in Android

Android may be the fastest growing mobile platform but its open source concept, which helps drive its success, could also prove to be its Achilles heel.
 
Security firm F-Secure predicts that 2011 will see cyber scammers target Android more than any other mobile platform due to the lack of approval processes – like those found on Apple’s Apps Store and Nokia’s Ovi - for Android Market applications.
 
In 2010, the firm detected Android applications that posed as games while spying on users; applications posing as banking applications with no official connection to banks; and applications that attempted to steal user’s banking credentials.
 
Jailbroken iPhones could also be exploited for malicious purposes, F-Secure said, after only detecting malware on iPhones that had been unlocked.
 
F-secure warned that worm-infected iPhones could destroy or steal data, track user’s locations, and spam contacts without user’s knowledge.