Mobile Malware: The Worm in the Apple
Posted on | July 5, 2010 | No Comments
Author:
Jason Voiovich
Ecra Creative Group
Key Points:
1. To this point, the growth in mobile computing seems to have outpaced the growth in malicious software for those devices.
2. But the exponential growth in mobile-web-enabled devices will be an irresistible opportunity for malicious software.
3. Apple’s “ease-of-use” value proposition is especially vulnerable in an increasingly sketchy mobile online world.
I’ve been an Apple user since 1993.
It’s not that I have a poor opinion of its PC counterparts, it’s just that I’ve had great luck with Apple products over the past (almost) 20 years. In that time, I have owned four machines. Just four. That includes a bondi blue clamshell iBook (cute at the time), a 12-inch PowerBook (wrecked by a botched repair job), a 15-inch MacBook Pro (my current main squeeze), and an iPhone 3Gs.
Compared to my PC friends, that’s a pretty good return on investment.
Part of the obvious reason for longevity is a tight connection between hardware and operating system software, and a notoriously protective Apple developer program (I know, my firm is a certified Apple mobile developer, and it wasn’t easy to be one). That connection, along with a smaller user base for desktop computers, means Apple is rarely the target of malicious software attacks that plague so many on the other side of the proverbial fence.
But the landscape is fundamentally changing in the computing world.
Apple’s signature iPhone, RIM’s Blackberry, and Google’s Droid phones have created an entirely new class of mobile computing which, as of yet, has been comparatively free of malicious software attacks.
Clearly, the party won’t last forever.
It’s just that the adoption curve has raced ahead of virus writers’ ability to capitalize. To see what I mean, all we need do is explore a couple of charts.
The graph below shows the rapid growth in mobile internet access as compared to other internet access technologies. By way of comparison, it took AOL nearly four years to reach 20 million subscribers. It took the iPhone about one year to do the same. Of course, the two were born into to two very different market circumstances, but the rapid growth remains stunning nonetheless.
The second chart presents a slightly different picture. Essentially, it plots the number of computing devices per user by decade. Of course, the mainframe era saw very few machines per person, mini-computers (adopted mainly by large businesses) more, PC’s more still. But notice the left end of the scale – it’s logarithmic. By 2020, there will likely be 20 billion internet-enabled mobile devices in operation – a predicted 2.2 per person worldwide (however, the distribution, undoubtedly, will be skewed).
Put simply, that’s a lot of hardware.
And the opportunity for malicious intent – whether for notoriety, petty crime, organized crime, or espionage – will be irresistible.
For the time-being, those concerns are muted. Unless your iPhone is “jailbroken”, you are pretty safe. But let’s look ahead a few years. There is no question the wide scale infiltration of malicious software for mobile-web-enable devices is on its way. What will it mean to the Apple brand to have its (clearly dominant) device the target of malware on a global scale?
To answer, let’s examine the crux of the Apple brand: User-friendliness.
Of course, one could argue that the Apple brand is really about technical innovation (not really true – other devices are technically superior to the iPod), or emotional attachment (that one I can accept, but emotional attachment to what is the real question).
I would argue what has made Apple so successful with its consumer electronics products is that anyone – even the grandmother I saw at the pool last week with her family – could feel comfortable with a glossy new iPhone. It works the way the user would expect it to work. It doesn’t have too many options. It makes many of the decisions for you.
By ceding control of many of the mobile computing decisions, a large group of users who simply want their mobile experience to be easy and enjoyable have rewarded Apple with a commanding market share and silly-high profit margins on the device and astronomical profit margins in the iTunes store.
What happens, then, when the inevitable happens, and the iPhone operating system is the target of repeated and increasing vicious malware attacks?
That reality strikes at the core of the Apple value proposition.
Users will no longer be able to carelessly assume they are not at risk. They will need to be involved and engaged at a level they are not today. And with Apple’s dominance over both the device and the software, it will not be able to escape blame. Over time, a more complex user experience could erode the emotional connection of a large group of Apple users.
My prediction: Steve Job’s latest brilliant new announcement won’t be a new device, but new antivirus software.
Related Links:
The Truth About The iPhone Virus / Vulnerability Thing : It’s Fixed
iPhone virus discovered: be vigilant and seek advice
Tags: Apple > droid virus > iphone OS > iphone virus > malware
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About
Jason Voiovich
Ecra Creative Group
Phone: 651.209.2778
Principal and co-founder of Ecra Creative Group, a Minneapolis, MN based creative services firm specializing in brand development, reputation process management, naming/trademark, and product launches to drive measurable business results.
