ITWire

The research focussed on Android 2.3 rather than 4.0 because the former is still the most widely used. "Security patches are provided to customers by individual carriers or handset manufacturers. There is an unacceptable delay in this process, meaning that many consumers remain unprotected from critical vulnerabilities for a prolonged period," the report notes.

Furthermore, "Android is currently the preferred platform by cybercriminals," with malware typically taking the form of Trojans.

Part of the problem is that although apps are granted permissions by the user. "Unfortunately the end user often fails to closely inspect the permissions request dialogue in their haste to use the app. It is often unclear, when permissions are given, what the application is actually capable of," Trend Micro officials observed.

One of the report's authors, Nigel Stanley, Bloor Research's practice leader - security, said "Security people I work with are scared witless by consumerisation and the rapid adoption of these devices. Aside from the technical challenges, organisations need to understand the importance of a decent mobile device security policy and supporting user education."

The report is available here [PDF, 1.3MB].