96 Percent Of Androids Running Old OS Versions

Some 90 percent of all mobile threats target the popular Android platform, Juniper Networks report says

A new statistic underscores the real mobile security problem today: Only 4 percent of Android users are running the latest version of the mobile OS, which can mitigate some 77 percent of all existing Android malware threats.
Mobile malware, meanwhile, grew 614 percent between March 2012 and 2013, according to Juniper Networks annual Mobile Threats Report. Googles data shows that as of June 3, 4 percent of all Android users were running the newest version of the operating system, according to the report.
Google could learn from the Microsoft model. User experience would want [upgrades] -- they want new features, which will drive some to demand up-to-date Android platforms, says Michael Callahan, vice president of global security product marketing at Juniper Networks.
But an even bigger incentive will be when they start getting hit with SMS texting scams that charge them for messages they didnt send, he says. They will start to see in their phone bill [the illicit charges] ... and go back to their providers and say, You need to pay for that, Callahan says. That will then pressure providers to cooperate with the handset manufacturers to keep the Android models updated regularly, he says.
Privacy researcher and activist Chris Soghoian earlier this year pointed out how many mobile carriers are not properly protecting their customers because they dont support or enforce Android updates across the board on the smartphones. Some phones just dont get the latest Android OS version because theyre being phased out or are older models.
You dont need an zero-day to attack most Android devices if consumers are running 13-month-old software, Soghoian said in a presentation at the Kaspersky Security Analyst Summit in February.
According to the Juniper report, the latest Android OS offers defense mitigation against the most common Android malware, which accounts for 77 percent of the threats to the smartphone platform.
There are currently 276,259 malicious mobile apps, and more than 90 percent of all mobile threats target the popular Android platform. Nearly 70 percent of smartphones shipped in 2012 were Androids, according to analysis firm Canalys, and that number is expected to grow to 1 billion by 2017.
With popularity comes cybercrime: Overall, malware for the Android grew from 24 percent of all mobile malware in 2010 to 92 percent as of March of this year, Juniper says.
As I expected, the percentage of malware increased for the Android. But to jump so high [in one year] -- I didnt expect that. Forty-seven to 92 percent is a huge increase: It almost doubled from one year to the next, Callahan says.
Nearly 75 percent of all known malware are SMS Trojans/FakeInstallers that trick users into sending SMS message to premium-rate numbers. Such an attack can make the bad guys $10 a message.
The full mobile threat report by Juniper is available
here
for download.
Have a comment on this story? Please click Add Your Comment below. If youd like to contact
Dark Readings
editors directly,
send us a message
.

Last News
▸ ArcSight prepares for future at user conference post HP acquisition. ◂ Discovered: 07/01/2025 Category: security	▸ Samsung Epic 4G: First To Use Media Hub ◂ Discovered: 07/01/2025 Category: security	▸ Many third-party software fails security tests ◂ Discovered: 07/01/2025 Category: security

**Cyber Security Categories**
Google Dorks Database	Exploits Vulnerability	Exploit Shellcodes

CVE List

Tools/Apps

News/Aarticles

Phishing Database

Deepfake Detection

Trends/Statistics & Live Infos

Tags:
96 Percent Of Androids Running Old OS Versions