iPhone: no cause for panic about virus wave

Bochum (Germany), November 2007 – Apple’s iPhone has barely gone on sale and al-ready some security businesses foresee a wave of viruses flooding in on an apocalyptic scale. G DATA Security Lab experts put the current risks for the iPhone and Symbian smartphones under microscopic
investigation. The reassuring results: the potential danger that has been proclaimed is vanishingly small. For the malware industry, smartphones do not, de facto, make worthwhile targets. In the last 12 months, G DATA experts have succeeded in identifying no more than 23 new malicious programs affecting Symbian, the most widely distributed smartphone platform. It would take just two and a half hours to discover a similar quantity of Windows-based malware. According to an assessment by G DATA board member Dr. Dirk Hochstrate, certain security suppliers are consciously undermining the confidence of smartphone owners to drive the expansion in use of their mobile security products.

It cannot be denied that online criminals are always on the lookout for new sources of income. However, taking issue with reports to the contrary, G DATA’s assessment is that smartphones continue to promise slim pickings for cyberthugs. According to a thorough analysis by G DATA Security Labs, the complexities faced by professional malware authors are out of any proportion to the potential profits. Another point of consolation for smartphone users is that from a technical point of view, even under Symbian, mass distribution of malicious programs is scarcely practicable because Blue-tooth is unsuitable for rapid distribution of malware. The MMS route is a conceivable channel for malicious code, but the installation process requires specific user actions. Many smartphone users mistrust e-mail sufficiently to avoid falling for the known tricks. Purchasers of the iPhone need not fear MMS as an attack route because the iPhone has no MMS functions.

Dr. Dirk Hochstrate, G DATA Software AG Board Member
“Certain security suppliers are evidently taking advantage of media hype surrounding Apple’s mobile hero to create a completely unfounded atmosphere of doubt. Even if Apple achieves its sales targets and sells ten million iPhones worldwide by the end of 2008, their market share will still be no more than one per cent. This represents a Symbian-device to iPhone ratio of 10:1. Against this background the idea of the iPhone as the prize platform for malware authors to exploit is a highly fanciful one. Our view is that talk of any real risk at the present time is panic-mongering for political marketing reasons. It is evident that certain security suppliers merely wish to install themselves as early occupiers of niche markets.”

Drive-by infections from infected websites or surfing on unsecured WLANs remain a theoretical risk for iPhone owners. But still, Ralf Benzmüller, Head of G DATA Security Labs is confident that there will be no vast wave of iPhone viruses in the foreseeable fu-ture.

“The malware industry will definitely be sounding out the potential of the iPhone. So-called “proof of concept” viruses are highly likely. Using these test viruses, malware au-thors aim to show that it is technically possible to develop iPhone viruses. For reasons of prestige, every malware programmer naturally wants to be the first. But we can re-assure iPhone owners. The figures available to us prove that in the last two years, smartphone viruses have been in sharp decline. This year, just 23 new malicious pro-grams have cropped up – a fall of 70 per cent compared to last year. From the eco-nomic point of view, the development and distribution of malware for iPhones and Symbian just does not pay,” says Ralf Benzmüller.

The many operating systems, difficulties in distributing malicious code and the lack of a cybercrime business model make smartphones unattractive to criminals.

At the present time, the need for special antivirus solutions for Symbian, iPhone etc. is therefore questionable.

Falling trend: number of viruses for smartphones
-2005: 145
- 2006: 73
- 2007: so far 23 new viruses