Trend Micro: Android malware is expected to reach 130,000 in Q4 2012

Android malware surges, study finds

In the early morning of July 5, 2012, antivirus software manufacturer Trend Micro said that the number of Android malware is growing at an alarming rate.

The security company said it had found more than 5,000 malicious apps designed for Google's Android mobile operating system at the beginning of the year, but that number has grown to about 20,000 in recent months. By the third quarter, it expects the number of Android malware to increase to about 38,000 in the third quarter and nearly 130,000 in the fourth quarter.

If Trend Micro's predictions are correct, this winter, people will not face the flu, but a "plague" of Android malware. Google Play has been used as a platform to spread malicious apps that steal data or violate privacy, and this platform can be said to be the source of many malicious apps.

Ryan Naraine, a writer for the US technology website ZDNet, warned this time last year that it was Google's "incompetence" that allowed malicious apps to flow out of the app store, which was then still called Android Market; and now it seems that this is still a "source of embarrassment" for Google.

Trend Micro said more than a dozen malicious apps were downloaded more than 700,000 times before being removed by Google. The malicious apps found had different purposes: some were used to steal data, some tracked mobile devices via GPS, and others blasted ads or installed dialers.

According to the latest data released by market research firm comScore, Android's share of the mobile market has exceeded 50%, making this mobile platform an attractive target for malware attacks. "The growth in Android malware shows that criminals have a sustained and dedicated interest in this mobile platform, especially the Android operating system," said Rik Ferguson, head of security research and communications at Trend Micro.

Google did not respond to requests for comment, saying its "offices will be closed from July 4th to 6th in observance of the Independence Day holiday."