Apple’s iPhone line of smartphones continues to be loved by consumers. Unfortunately, they’re also popular among a less savory group, hackers. Business Insider recently documented on a new study that discovered that the iPhone stands as the most hacked mobile device. And most stunning? It’s not even close – the iPhone is the most hacked by a lot.
Hackable
Business Insider cites a recent study by Web security firm SourceFire – “25 Years of Vulnerabilities” – in its story. According to Source Fire, iPhones have registered 210 CVE – Critical Vulnerabilities – reports. In contrast, mobile devices powered by the Android operating system have only received 24 CVE reports. That’s a major difference.
What’s behind it?
This begs the obvious question: Why have iPhones been hacked so many more times than have Android mobile devices? As with a lot of other big questions, there are no easy answers. Business Insider wonders whether part of the reason might be the iPhone’s popularity. The devices, in spite of everything, remain a top seller. But the SourceFire report states that Android has received fewer CVEs in 2012 than it did in 2011. This drop happened even though Android enjoyed a big rise in market share last year.
Another explanation?
In an interview with the ZDNet Web site, the author of the SourceFire report wonders if hackers don’t target the iPhone more often because it’s more of a challenge. Since of course, Android relies on an open platform. Consequently 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 cleverest hackers.