You might be surprised which mobile device is hacked the most
Mobile devices have been looked at as safer. Desktop and laptop computers, the theory goes, are far more vulnerable to hackers and cyber criminals. That’s true to a certain degree. But hackers are advanced enough today to compromise tablets and smartphones, as well. And there’s one particular mobile device that gets hacked a lot more often than any other. According to a recent story by Business Insider, it’s the iPhone that is the most hackable mobile device.
Targeted iPhone
Business Insider reports on the recent study “25 Years of Vulnerabilities” by Web security firm SourceFire. The report tracks the number of Critical Vulnerabilities – also known as CREs – experienced by a variety of devices and software. When it came to mobile devices, Apple’s iPhone line had experienced way more hacks than does every other. The SourceFire report found 210 CVE reports on iPhone devices. In comparison, it found just 24 for Android devices.
Why?
What’s behind the disparity? Why does the iPhone suffer so many more hack attacks? There isn’t any one simple answer. Business Insider, though, questions whether the ongoing popularity of the iPhone is behind the higher numbers. Naturally, it seems sensible that hackers would like to target the most popular mobile devices. There’s a fault with this argument, though. Last year, the buzz and market share of Android-powered mobile devices soared. But even though this happened, the number of CVE reports on Android devices actually fell. So as the devices became more popular, they actually suffered fewer attacks.
Another explanation?
In an interview with the ZDNet Web site, the author of the SourceFire report marvels if hackers don’t target the iPhone more frequently because it’s more of a challenge. Since of course, Android relies on an open platform. As a result 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. Which may inspire the nation’s best hackers.
