Only a Matter of Time Before Malware Found Android
I guess it had to happen sooner or later — malware has found its way into the exploding mobile app market for Google’s open source Android OS that has been touted many times as the iPhone killer of the smartphone market.
According to an article in Online Media Daily, over 1000 apps a day are uploaded onto Android phones, and while Google officially admits “removing several applications infected with malware”, security firm Lookout claims there are a lot more. What makes this even scarier is that the original apps appear to have been virus-free but were later hijacked and injected with dangerous malware.
What does all this mean to B2B online marketers?
That brand reputations can be at risk if the apps they develop – or the ones they use – become infected with malware. Worse, that consumer security is jeopardized, resulting in costly law suits. As the mobile marketplace grows in leaps and bounds to become a crucial channel for B2B marketing and online sales, this serves as a cautionary tale.
Help is on the way.
One bright spot in this story is that a number of security software developers are on the case. Symantec is addressing the issue with a recently-released mobile security app to protect personal data on Android phones. Likewise CA Technologies has introduced a comprehensive mobile security suite that the company claims will protect personal data on smartphones using Android, Blackberry, Windows Mobile and Nokia’s long-popular Symbian OS – now the second most popular mobile OS after being recently unseated from the top spot by Android.
About Jim Schakenbach
Principal of BIGWORDS Content Development, Jim is a freelance writer and marketing communications consultant working primarily with B2B and technology accounts. He specializes in creating clear, compelling marketing messages for complex products and technologies but happily works with a wide range of businesses and industries. Download Jim’s free white paper, “Content Strategy: Six Steps to Better Content.”