Google’s Sundar Pichai: Android was not designed to be safe, it was designed to give more freedom

The Mobile Threat report from Cisco last month revealed that 99% of all mobile malwares targeted Android devices last year. When Sundar Pichai, the Senior Vice President at Google, who overseas Android was asked about the malware situation on the Android platform, he gave a surprisingly frank answer. According to FrAndroid, Pichai had this to say about the malware problem at the Mobile World Congress: We cannot guarantee that Android is designed to be safe, the format was designed to give more freedom. When people talk about 90% of malware for Android, they must of course take into account the fact that it is the most popular operating system in the world. If I had a company dedicated to malware, I would also be addressing my attacks on Android. The huge malware attacks are partially due to the fact that Android is one of the most popular mobile operating systems, and lot more open than iOS. But 99% of all mobile malwares is extremely high, and should be an area of concern for Google. It is possible that Pichai’s statement was taken out of context, as it is hard to believe that the head of Android at Google would make such a statement. He would also be indirectly refuting statements made by Google’s Chairman Eric Schmidt, who has claimed that Android was more secure than the iPhone. [FrAndroid via 9to5Mac] Continue reading →

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