Spike in mobile malware doubles Android users' chances of infection

'Startup phase of mobile malware' shows experimentation by attackers, says expert

Computerworld - An explosion in mobile malware during the last six months has more than doubled the chance that a user's Android smartphone will become infected, a security researcher said today.

According to Lookout Security, which develops anti-malware software for Android but not for Apple's iPhone, the likelihood of an Android owner encountering malware has jumped by two-and-a-half times since January.

By June, between 1% and 5% of Android users -- the number varies by country -- had been infected by mobile malware, said Kevin Mahaffey, co-founder and CTO of San Francisco-based Lookout.

Mahaffey blamed a dramatic spike in malware targeting Android for improving hackers' odds. "In January, we saw only 80 unique pieces of Android malware, but by the end of June we tracked over 400," said Mahaffey.       More