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Android more at risk than iOS, says Trend Micro

Chairman of the security software maker tells Bloomberg that Android is more vulnerable to viruses than iOS. The company recently released a security program for Android devices.

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Don Reisinger
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When it comes to mobile security, Apple's iOS platform might get the nod over Android, according to security software maker Trend Micro.

Speaking to Bloomberg yesterday, Trend Micro Chairman Steve Chang said that "Android is open-source, which means the hacker can also understand the underlying architecture and source code." Apple, he said in the interview, has been "very careful about it. It's impossible for certain types of viruses" to run on the company's iPhone.

Chang specifically pointed to Apple's "sandbox concept that isolates the platform, which prevents certain viruses that want to replicate themselves or decompose and recompose to avoid virus scanners."

For its part, Google told Bloomberg that its platform has safeguards in place that "limit the amount of trust a user must grant to any given application developer."

Debates are ongoing with respect to the security of Android and iOS. In July, security experts revealed that both iOS and Android have "comparable" security, but they achieve it in different ways. Moreover, an expert told CNET at the time that the threats each mobile operating system poses aren't affecting users all that much.

"Security concerns are mostly theoretical, at this point," Independent Security Evaluators principal analyst Charlie Miller said in an interview with CNET. "You are more likely to lose the phone."

In November, security firm Coverity found that Android suffers from 359 code flaws that could cause security problems on the platform. The company said that 88 of those flaws are "high-risk problems."

Last week, Trend Micro released Trend Micro Mobile Security for Android. The app, which retails for $3.99, protects users against phishing attacks, call and text message filtering, malware prevention, and identity protection. The company also has a security app for iOS.