Android OS malware

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Malware that specifically targeted mobile operating systems increased in 2011 as smartphones became more popular with enterprise users, as well as consumers. These cyber-criminals also developed affection for the Google Android OS, which saw the biggest jump in malware during the past 12 months, according to a new report from Juniper Networks.

Malware targeting the Android mobile operating system grew by a whopping 3,325 percent in the last seven months of 2011, according to the 2011 Mobile Threat Report, which Juniper released Feb. 15. Android malware accounted for about 46.7 percent of unique malware samples that targeted mobile platforms, followed by 41 percent for Java Mobile Edition.

Overall, mobile malware more than doubled in 2011, growing by 155 percent across all platforms, which included Apple’s iOS, Research In Motion‘s BlackBerry and Symbian. New malware samples targeting Java Mobile Edition increased by a little less than 50 percent in 2011. Java ME is popularly used on Symbian and Windows Mobile devices.

Juniper saw a “significant increase in the amount of mobile malware, its sophistication, as well as new nimble social-engineering-based attacks,” said Daniel Hoffman, chief mobile security evangelist at Juniper Networks.

The Mobile Threat Center at Juniper Networks examined more than 793,631 applications and 28,472 unique malware samples to compile the report. Despite the eye-popping growth numbers, the total number for mobile malware remains minuscule, compared with malware targeting traditional computers.