Mobile Mayhem Report: Are Your Apps High Risk?
Security specialist Kaspersky recently identified malware targeted at Android devices to be one of the top threats in 2013, and now a new study from mobile security company TrustGo is taking that one step further by letting us know which Android app marketplaces are the safest and which ones to avoid. Here’s what you need to know, and what you should share with your clients.
TrustGo‘s new study points out that high risk applications in Android marketplaces have increased by 43 percent in Q4 over Q3, and that one in five apps is now considered “high risk.” Not surprisingly the biggest offenders are games.
The top five riskiest Android marketplaces were all based in China. Of the top five safest marketplaces, two were in the United States — Amazon at number 4 and Google Play at number 5.
TrustGo’s study categorized apps into one of four categories: certified, malicious, high risk, and low risk.The company’s fourth quarter survey, Mobile Mayhem Report, revealed a growing problem with malicious and risky apps in marketplaces around the world. The study revealed the following key points:
- More than 1 in 5 apps available worldwide have been labeled high risk.
- There’s been an increase in apps that are not conventionally considered malicious, but are categorized by TrustGo as high risk.
- Google Play ranks as the 5th safest marketplace.
- China-based app marketplaces remain the most risky in the world with 39.2 percent, specifically the Anzhi marketplace.
- The Aproov app marketplace (based in Europe) ranks as the safest overall marketplace.
The report covers the months of October through December, includes information on 2.27 million apps found on 187 marketplaces worldwide. TrustGo is a Santa Clara, Calif.-based mobile security company.
