Mobile OS vulnerabilities jump 43 percent

The number of mobile device vulnerabilities has jumped 43 percent ths year, according to Symantec.

Response centre manager Tom Parsons said the rise since was "a very significant increase" and was due to operating system vulnerabilities.

“Every vulnerability is important but it does come down to the OS being more popular and there is more exposure on it," Parsons said.

A whitepaper into Apple's iOS and Google's Android found most devices were designed with consumer requirements in mind at the expense of security.

But mobile device platforms iOS and Android were more secure than desktop-based operating systems, according to Symantec security technology and response chief architect Carey Nachenberg.

“Enterprise employees are increasingly using unmanaged, personal devices to access sensitive enterprise resources and then connecting these devices to third party services outside of the governance of the enterprise, potentially exposing key assets to attackers,” he said.

Symantec said the iOS security model had strong protection against traditional malware, thanks to Apple's rigorous app and developer certification processes.

Google, however, allowed any software developer to create and release apps anonymously, without inspection, it found.

This article originally appeared at scmagazineuk.com