This post from eWeek reminded me to remind my friends using iOS (Apple) products that at some point they are really going to need anti-malware tools for their devices.
One of the problems that will get in the way of their security is Apple - the company doesn't want to own up to device security.
From the post:
Last week, Kaspersky was again talking about Apple, this time saying he was “a little bit disappointed … Apple won’t let us” develop antivirus software for iOS devices, including iPhones and iPads. In an interview with The Register news site, he warned that—like with Macs and Mac OS X—the rapidly growing popularity in the iOS devices will mean that criminals increasingly will target the operating system.
“We as a security company are not able to develop true endpoint security for iOS,” Kaspersky toldThe Register. “That will mean disaster for Apple.”
However, he said, right now, hackers are content to hit up other platforms that are less complicated than iOS.
“They are happy with Windows computers,” Kaspersky said. “Now, they are happy with Mac. They are happy with Android. It is much more difficult to infect iOS, but it is possible and when it happens, it will be the worst-case scenario because there will be no protection. The Apple SDK won’t let us do it.”
Eugene Kaspersky will of course make money if his company can sell anti-malware tools to iOS consumers. In this case that doesn't necessarily mean he's wrong. His estimate that "Apple is 10 years behind Microsoft in terms of security" probably isn't that far off.
Microsoft spent years harming us with ineffective security on their products while being the target of almost all malware attacks because of their market share. What self-respecting criminal or teen-age geek would write software to attack less than 10% of the market when 90% was ripe for the picking?
Those years of attacks and Microsoft's response have made Microsoft products much safer. And now with the success of the iPhone and iPad attacking iOS isn't as absurd as it once was. Kaspersky thinks it's only a matter of time - and it will be a disaster for Apple and its customers.
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