The potential for app stores to enable the rapid development, distribution and proliferation of malware applications provides a significant security problem for mobile device users, according to an assessment of mobile threats published by infrastructure vendor Juniper Networks. It notes that “created as a means to distribute applications to mobile device users, app stores provide an ideal transport mechanism for the delivery of malicious software to high volumes of mobile devices.” The situation is not aided by the fact that alongside vendor app stores such as Apple’s App Store and Google’s Android Market, it is also often possible for users to download apps from “unaffiliated third-party app stores,” and this practice “has been known to be a catalyst for the launch of renegade applications affected by malware.” Juniper notes that while there has been much debate about how apps are certified, “ultimately endpoint security software is the best prevention against mobile malware.”

Earlier this year, “dozens” of applications were discovered on Android Market which contained malware, with Google going as far as using a remote “kill switch” to remove software from installed devices in order to protect affected users. Mobile security firm Lookout said that this malware, called Droid Dream, “could be considered a powerful zombie agent that can install any applications silently and execute code with root privileges at will; it is the first piece of Android malware we’ve seen that uses an exploit to gain root permissions, thereby giving it a substantial amount of control over an infected device.”

According to Juniper, malware affecting Symbian OS devices makes up 77 percent of the virus definitions found in its Junos Pulse Mobile Security Suite database, reflecting the fact that until recently this was by-far  the dominant smartphone platform. Along with another legacy platform, Windows Mobile, these have provided a “proving ground for malicious platforms over the past five years.” However, it also said that “2010 saw the crown handed over to the Google Android platform.” Noting that there is a clear link between device and OS market share and malware infection rates, the company said there has been a 400 percent increase in Android malware since summer 2010.

Due to Apple’s tight control of the iOS ecosystem, the iPhone “suffers from relatively little known malware,” although applications exist to obtain user data and clandestinely transmit this information outside of the device. It noted that the major threat to iPhones remains with jailbroken devices.