The mass adoption of both consumer and managed mobile devices exposes enterprises to new
security risks
Dubai, UAE – July 11, 2011 – Symantec Corp. (Nasdaq: SYMC) today announced the publication of “A
Window into Mobile Device Security: Examining the security approaches employed in Apple’s iOS
and Google’s Android” (PDF). This whitepaper conducts an in-depth, technical evaluation of the two
predominant mobile platforms, Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android, in an effort to help corporations
understand the security risks of deploying these devices in the enterprise.
Chief among the findings is that while the most popular mobile platforms in use today were designed
with security in mind, these provisions are not always sufficient to protect sensitive enterprise assets
that regularly find their way onto devices. Complicating matters, today’s mobile devices are increasingly
being connected to and synchronized with an entire ecosystem of 3rd-party cloud and desktop-based
services outside the enterprise’s control, potentially exposing key enterprise assets to increased risk.
Click to Tweet: Symantec analysis finds iOS and Android security better than that of PCs, but major gaps
remain: http://bit.ly/ieywwW
The paper offers a detailed analysis of the security models employed by Apple’s iOS and Google’s
Android platforms, evaluating each platform’s effectiveness against today’s major threats, including:
Web-based and network-based attacks
Social engineering attacks
Resource and service availability abuse
Malicious and unintentional data loss
Attacks on the integrity of the device’s data
This analysis has led to some important conclusions:
While offering improved security over traditional desktop-based operating systems, both iOS
and Android are still vulnerable to many existing categories of attacks.
iOS’s security model offers strong protection against traditional malware, primarily due to
Apple’s rigorous app certification process and their developer certification process, which vets
the identity of each software author and weeds out attackers.
Google has opted for a less rigorous certification model, permitting any software developer to
create and release apps anonymously, without inspection. This lack of certification has arguably
led to today’s increasing volume of Android-specific malware.
Users of both Android and iOS devices regularly synchronize their devices with 3rd-party
cloud services (e.g., web-based calendars) and with their home desktop computers. This can
potentially expose sensitive enterprise data stored on these devices to systems outside the
governance of the enterprise..
So-called “jailbroken” devices, or devices whose security has been disabled, offer attractive
targets for attackers since these devices are every bit as vulnerable as traditional PCs.
“Today’s mobile devices are a mixed bag when it comes to security,” said Bulent Teksoz, Symantec
Security Strategist for Emerging Markets. “While more secure than traditional PCs, these platforms
are still vulnerable to many traditional attacks. Moreover, enterprise employees are increasingly using
unmanaged, personal devices to access sensitive enterprise resources, and then connecting these
devices to 3rd-party services outside of the governance of the enterprise, potentially exposing key assets
to attackers.”
White Paper: A Window into Mobile Device Security: Examining the security approaches
employed in Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android (PDF)
Blog Post: New Symantec Research: The Current State of Mobile Device Security
Infographic: Top Threats Targeting Mobile Devices
SlideShare Presentation: Mobile Device Security
Symantec Mobile Solutions
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About Security Technology and Response
The Security Technology and Response (STAR) organization, which includes Security Response, is a
worldwide team of security engineers, threat analysts and researchers that provides the underlying
functionality, content and support for all Symantec corporate and consumer security products. With
Response centers located throughout the world, STAR monitors malicious code reports from more than
130 million systems across the Internet, receives data from 240,000 network sensors in more than 200
countries and tracks more than 25,000 vulnerabilities affecting more than 55,000 technologies from
more than 8,000 vendors. The team uses this vast intelligence to develop and deliver the world’s most
comprehensive security protection.
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