Mobile devices have always been often considered as more safe. Desktop and laptop computers, the theory goes, are far more susceptible to hackers and cyber criminals. That’s true to a certain extent. But hackers are clever enough today to compromise tablets and smartphones, as well. And there’s one specific mobile device that gets compromised far more often than any other. As per a recent story by Business Insider, it’s the iPhone that is the most hackable mobile device.
Hackable
Business Insider reports on the recent study “25 Years of Vulnerabilities” by Web security firm SourceFire. The report tracks how many Critical Vulnerabilities – also known as CREs – experienced by many different devices and software. When it came to mobile devices, Apple’s iPhone line had experienced far more hacks than any other. The SourceFire report found 210 CVE reports on iPhone devices. In comparison, it found just 24 for Android devices.
What’s behind it?
This begs the obvious question: Why have iPhones been compromised so many more times than have Android mobile devices? As with a lot of other big questions, there are no easy answers. Business Insider ponders whether a part of the reason might be the iPhone’s popularity. The devices, after all, remain a top seller. But the SourceFire report states that Android has received fewer CVEs in 2012 than it did in 2011. This drop happened even though Android enjoyed a big rise in market share last year.
Going after the king
In an interview with the ZDNet Web site, the author of the SourceFire report ponders if hackers don’t target the iPhone more often because it’s more of a challenge. After all, Android relies on an open platform. This means that it’s relatively easy for criminals and scammers to create malicious apps for this platform. Users could then download them to their phones by themselves. Hacking the iPhone, which does not use an open platform, might be more challenging. And that may inspire the nation’s cleverest hackers.
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