Study finds 25 percent of Android apps to be a security risk

November 05, 2012

According to a new report from Bit9—a security vendor with a focus on defending against advanced persistent threats (APT)—there is a one in four chance that downloading an Android app from the official Google Play market could put you at risk. Bit9 analyzed 400,000 or so apps in Google Play, and found over 100,000 it considers to be on the shady side. Does that mean that the sky is falling, and everyone with an Android smartphone or tablet should abandon it immediately? No. The research by Bit9 illustrates some issues with app development in general, and should raise awareness among mobile users to exercise some discretion when downloading and installing apps, but it’s not a sign of any urgent crisis affecting Android apps. Use discretion rather than blindly granting permissions to apps. The report from Bit9 isn’t about apps that contain malware, or are even overtly malicious for that matter. Bit9 reviewed the permissions requested by the apps, and examined the security and privacy implications of granting those permissions. The reality is that many apps request permission to access sensitive contentthey have no actual need for. Bit9 says that 72 percent of all Android apps in the Google Play market request access to at least one potentially risky permission. For example, 42 percent request access to GPS location data, 31 percent want access to phone number and phone call history, and 26 percent ask for permission to access personal information. Bit9 discovered 285 apps that use 25 or more system permissions. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Link: http://www.pcworld.com/article/2013524/study-finds-25-percent-of-android-apps-to-be-a-security-risk.html