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Android Is Now as Safe as the Competition, Google Says (cnet.com)

Posted by msmash on from the apple-to-oranges dept.

In an interview with CNET, David Kleidermacher, Google's head of security for Android, Google Play and Chrome OS, said Android is now as safe as the competition. From the interview: That's a big claim, considering that Android's main competitor is Apple's iPhone. This bold idea permeates the annual Android Security Report that Google released Thursday. "Android security made a significant leap forward in 2017 and many of our protections now lead the industry," the report says on page one. Echoing the report, Kleidermacher told CNET that Android flaws have become harder for researchers to find and that the software now protects users from malicious software so well the problems that used to leave users exposed to bad actors aren't such a big problem anymore.

5 of 116 comments (clear)

  1. How can this possibly be true? by Teckla · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Given the ridiculously short amount of time Android devices get updates -- including devices from Google itself -- how can this possibly be true from a realistic viewpoint?

    1. Re:How can this possibly be true? by dbialac · · Score: 4, Insightful

      But is Android safe from Google? Spyware is spyware.

    2. Re:How can this possibly be true? by thebullshitpatrol · · Score: 4, Insightful

      not to mention the fact that submitting to the appstore requires 10x more effort because there are actual standards, code review, and testing to enforce.

    3. Re:How can this possibly be true? by thegarbz · · Score: 3, Insightful

      But is Android safe from Google? Spyware is spyware.

      So? I don't need it to be safe from Google. They have shown to be trustworthy with my data. Google has yet to ransomware me, max out my credit card, steal my identity or do anything else with the ludicrous amount of data they have on me other than serve me ads.

    4. Re:How can this possibly be true? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Insightful

      No, you just don't know how it can be misused. Examples:

      1) They were happy to hand over your data to the NSA. Hell, only Yahoo appealed the FISA warrant.
      2) Putting your data in 3rd party hands allows LEOs to get the information without you knowing there's an investigation going on about you.
      3) Just yesterday there was an article here about the CLOUD Act.