A new independent study by security experts at Symantec attempted to measure how secure Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android platform are, and also to determine how these mobile platforms stack up against desktop operating systems. Symantec claims that these mobile platforms are much more secure than today’s popular desktop operating systems, though the firm does note that the key variable, as always, is the human element. “Today’s mobile devices are a mixed bag when it comes to security,” said Carey Nachenberg, Symantec Fellow and Chief Architect, in a statement. “While more secure than traditional PCs, these platforms are still vulnerable to many traditional attacks. Moreover, enterprise employees are increasingly using unmanaged, personal devices to access sensitive enterprise resources, and then connecting these devices to 3rd-party services outside of the governance of the enterprise, potentially exposing key assets to attackers.” While Symantec neglects to reach a firm conclusion regarding which mobile OS is the most secure, the firm definitely seems to favor iOS more often than not. It says iOS’ app screening procedure plays a big role in the operating system’s security, and it also says the platform’s architecture makes it better at resisting malware attacks and data integrity attacks. It also says iOS offers better encryption and more secure access control for apps. Symantec’s full press release follows below.
Symantec Analysis of Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android Platform Cites Improved Security over PCs, but Major Gaps Remain
The mass adoption of both consumer and managed mobile devices exposes enterprises to new security risks
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. – June 28, 2011 – Symantec Corp. (Nasdaq: SYMC) today announced the publication of “A Window into Mobile Device Security: Examining the security approaches employed in Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android” (PDF). This whitepaper conducts an in-depth, technical evaluation of the two predominant mobile platforms, Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android, in an effort to help corporations understand the security risks of deploying these devices in the enterprise.
Chief among the findings is that while the most popular mobile platforms in use today were designed with security in mind, these provisions are not always sufficient to protect sensitive enterprise assets that regularly find their way onto devices. Complicating matters, today’s mobile devices are increasingly being connected to and synchronized with an entire ecosystem of 3rd-party cloud and desktop-based services outside the enterprise’s control, potentially exposing key enterprise assets to increased risk.
The paper offers a detailed analysis of the security models employed by Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android platforms, evaluating each platform’s effectiveness against today’s major threats, including:
•Web-based and network-based attacks
•Malware
•Social engineering attacks
•Resource and service availability abuse
•Malicious and unintentional data loss
•Attacks on the integrity of the device’s data
This analysis has led to some important conclusions:
•While offering improved security over traditional desktop-based operating systems, both iOS and Android are still vulnerable to many existing categories of attacks.
•iOS’s security model offers strong protection against traditional malware, primarily due to Apple’s rigorous app certification process and their developer certification process, which vets the identity of each software author and weeds out attackers.
•Google has opted for a less rigorous certification model, permitting any software developer to create and release apps anonymously, without inspection. This lack of certification has arguably led to today’s increasing volume of Android-specific malware.
•Users of both Android and iOS devices regularly synchronize their devices with 3rd-party cloud services (e.g., web-based calendars) and with their home desktop computers. This can potentially expose sensitive enterprise data stored on these devices to systems outside the governance of the enterprise..
•So-called “jailbroken” devices, or devices whose security has been disabled, offer attractive targets for attackers since these devices are every bit as vulnerable as traditional PCs.
Quotes:
“Today’s mobile devices are a mixed bag when it comes to security,” said Carey Nachenberg, Symantec Fellow and Chief Architect, Symantec Security Technology and Response. “While more secure than traditional PCs, these platforms are still vulnerable to many traditional attacks. Moreover, enterprise employees are increasingly using unmanaged, personal devices to access sensitive enterprise resources, and then connecting these devices to 3rd-party services outside of the governance of the enterprise, potentially exposing key assets to attackers.”
About Security Technology and Response
The Security Technology and Response (STAR) organization, which includes Security Response, is a worldwide team of security engineers, threat analysts and researchers that provides the underlying functionality, content and support for all Symantec corporate and consumer security products. With Response centers located throughout the world, STAR monitors malicious code reports from more than 130 million systems across the Internet, receives data from 240,000 network sensors in more than 200 countries and tracks more than 25,000 vulnerabilities affecting more than 55,000 technologies from more than 8,000 vendors. The team uses this vast intelligence to develop and deliver the world’s most comprehensive security protection
(In the end, they both aren't so great and indeed Apple does have the upper hand here.)
Cyrus King
Something wierd happened to my iphone when I upgraded to iOS 5 beta 2. I went to restore from backup, which is so unbeleiably convenient and amazing. However, one thing didnt restore fully, and it was my apps. It was about to load them, and a popup came up saying one of my apps doesnt correspond to the country where my apple ID is registered in.
What the hell? I dont even jailbreak my phone anymore and i had to individually load the apps again!!! But my camera roll loaded through wifi, contacts, mail and everything.. except my apps.
Anyone know whats wrong with my restore from icloud? Anyone else tried restoring from icloud? I guess it might be a glitch since its still in beta phases.
VDub
Cyrus King
Do you use multiple iTunes accounts in the app store??
E2EK1EL
Flawless backup, syncing and restoring w/ iCloud. All my apps I've bought are from the CDN appstore.
Cyrus King
quote:
Originally posted by VDub Cyrus King
Do you use multiple iTunes accounts in the app store??
my moms account is on my computer, and she has an ipad, sometimes her ID is asked for on my phone.
I just have one account from apple myself.
Could her ipad account been mixed with mine somehow? Her ipad account is also canadian.
im going to delete my backup tonight and backup again and restore once more to see if this retarded problem persists
E2EK1EL
New Facebook update
Street Fighter IV Volt Battle Protocol
Online Versus mode stinks, too much lag and too many ppl range quit right before they lose.
LOL @ the Homo AZN
E2EK1EL
Open letter to BlackBerry bosses: Senior RIM exec tells all as company crumbles around him
There¡¯s no question Research In Motion is in the midst of a major transitional period. The company is planning to launch a brand new product line based on a brand new operating system within the next 12 months, and even though the first device born out of RIM¡¯s new QNX OS was impressive in some ways, it was incomplete. There still is a chance for RIM to deliver some really interesting competitive products, but time is quickly running out, as we have written time and time again. The thing is, RIM has always been a company controlled by two people ¡ª Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis. For all the things that have worked, they have missed the boat countless times and we¡¯re now seeing the results.
We have received an open letter to Mike and Jim from a high-level RIM employee (whose identity we have verified), and in an amazingly honest and passionate plea, this letter gives fascinating insights into what RIM must fix, and fast. RIM did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Read the open letter in its entirety after the break.
P.S. If you¡¯re an employee of RIM and want to send us your thoughts and feelings on the company, you can send them to us via email or leave a comment below.
¨C
To the RIM Senior Management Team:
I have lost confidence.
While I hide it at work, my passion has been sapped. I know I am not alone ¡ª the sentiment is widespread and it includes people within your own teams.
Mike and Jim, please take the time to really absorb and digest the content of this letter because it reflects the feeling across a huge percentage of your employee base. You have many smart employees, many that have great ideas for the future, but unfortunately the culture at RIM does not allow us to speak openly without having to worry about the career-limiting effects.
Before I get into the meat of the matter, I will say I am not part of a large group of bitter employees wishing to embarrass us. Rather, I believe these points need to be heard and I desperately want RIM to regain its position as a successful industry leader. Our carriers, distributors, alliance partners, enterprise customers, and our loyal end users all want the same thing¡_ for BlackBerry to once again be leading the pack.
We are in the middle of major ¡°transition¡± and things have never been more chaotic. Almost every project is falling further and further behind schedule at a time when we absolutely must deliver great, solid products on time. We urge you to make bold decisions about our organisational structure, about our culture and most importantly our products.
While we anxiously wait to see the details of the streamlining plan, here are some suggestions:
1) Focus on the End User experience
Let¡¯s obsess about what is best for the end user. We often make product decisions based on strategic alignment, partner requests or even legal advice ¡ª the end user doesn¡¯t care. We simply have to admit that Apple is nailing this and it is one of the reasons they have people lining up overnight at stores around the world, and products sold out for months. These people aren¡¯t hypnotized zombies, they simply love beautifully designed products that are user centric and work how they are supposed to work. Android has a major weakness ¡ª it will always lack the simplicity and elegance that comes with end-to-end device software, middleware and hardware control. We really have a great opportunity to build something new and ¡°uniquely BlackBerry¡± with the QNX platform.
Let¡¯s start an internal innovation revival with teams focused on what users will love instead of chasing ¡°feature parity¡± and feature differentiation for no good reason (Adobe Flash being a major example). When was the last time we pushed out a significant new experience or feature that wasn¡¯t already on other platforms?
Rather than constantly mocking iPhone and Android, we should encourage key decision makers across the board to use these products as their primary device for a week or so at a time ¡ª yes, on Exchange! This way we can understand why our users are switching and get inspiration as to how we can build our next-gen products even better! It¡¯s incomprehensible that our top software engineers and executives aren¡¯t using or deeply familiar with our competitor¡¯s products.
I¡¯m going to say what everyone is thinking¡_ We need some heavy hitters at RIM when it comes to software management. Teams still aren¡¯t talking together properly, no one is making or can make critical decisions, all the while everyone is working crazy hours and still far behind. We are demotivated. Just look at who our major competitors are: Apple, Google & Microsoft. These are three of the biggest and most talented software companies on the planet. Then take a look at our software leadership teams in terms of what they have delivered and their past experience prior to RIM¡_ It says everything.
3) Cut projects to the bone.
There is a serious need to consolidate our focus to just a handful of projects. Period.
We need to be disciplined here. We can¡¯t afford any more initiatives based on carrier requests to squeeze out slightly more volume. Again, back to point #1, focus on the end users. They are the ones making both consumer & enterprise purchase decisions.
Strategy is often in the things you decide not to do.
On that note, we simply must stop shipping incomplete products that aren¡¯t ready for the end user. It is hurting our brand tremendously. It takes guts to not allow a product to launch that may be 90% ready with a quarter end in sight, but it will pay off in the long term.
Look at Apple in 1997 for tips here. I really want you to watch this video because it has never been more relevant. It is our friend Steve Jobs in 97 and it may as well be you speaking to RIM employees and partners today. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LEXae1j6EY
4) Developers, not Carriers can now make or break us
We urgently need to invest like we never have before in becoming developer friendly. The return will be worth every cent. There is no polite way to say this, but it¡¯s true ¡ª BlackBerry smartphone apps suck. Even PlayBook, with all its glorious power, looks like a Fisher Price toy with its Adobe AIR/Flash apps.
Developing for BlackBerry is painful, and despite what you¡¯ve been told, things haven¡¯t really changed that much since Jamie Murai¡¯s letter. Our SDK / development platform is like a rundown 1990¡äs Ford Explorer. Then there¡¯s Apple, which has a shiny new BMW M3¡_ just such a pleasure to drive. Developers want and need quality tools.
If we create great tools, we will see great work. Offer tools and we shouldn¡¯t be surprised when we see apps.
The truth is, no one in RIM dares to tell management how bad our tools still are. Even our closest dev partners do their best to say it politely, but they will never bite the hand that feeds them. The solution? Recruit serious talent, buy SDK/API specialist companies, throw a truckload of money at it¡_ Let¡¯s do whatever it takes, and quickly!
5) Need for serious marketing punch to create end user desire
25 million iPad users don¡¯t care that it doesn¡¯t have Flash or true multitasking, so why make that a focus in our campaigns? I¡¯ll answer that for you: it¡¯s because that¡¯s all that differentiates our products and its lazy marketing. I¡¯ve never seen someone buy product B because it has something product A doesn¡¯t have. People buy product B because they want and lust after product B.
Also an important note regarding our marketing: a product¡¯s technical superiority does not equal desire, and therefore sales¡_ How many Linux laptops are getting sold? How did Betamax go? My mother wants an iPad and iPhone because it is simple and appeals to her. Powerful multitasking doesn¡¯t.
BlackBerry Messenger has been our standout, yet we wasted our marketing on strange stories from a barber shop to a horse wrangler. I promise you, this did nothing to help us in the mind of the average consumer.
We need an inventive and engaging campaign that focuses on what we are about. People buy into a brand / product not just because of features, but because of what it stands for and what it delivers to them. People don¡¯t buy ¡°what you do,¡± people buy ¡°why you do it.¡± Take 3 minutes to watch the this video starting from the 2min mark: http://youtu.be/qp0HIF3SfI4
6) No Accountability ¨C Canadians are too nice
RIM has a lot of people who underperform but still stay in their roles. No one is accountable. Where is the guy responsible for the 9530 software? Still with us, still running some important software initiative. We will never achieve excellence with this culture. Just because someone may have been a loyal RIM employee for 7 years, it doesn¡¯t mean they are the best Manager / Director / VP for that role. It¡¯s time to change the culture to deliver or move on and get out. We have far too many people in critical roles that fit this description. I can hear the cheers of my fellow employees now.
7) The press and analysts are pissing you off. Don¡¯t snap. Now is the time for humility with a dash of paranoia.
The public¡¯s questions about dual-CEOs are warranted. The partnership is not broken, but on the ground level, it is not efficient. Maybe we need our Eric Schmidt reign period.
Yes, four years ago we beat Microsoft when everyone said Windows Mobile with Direct Push in Exchange would kill us. It didn¡¯t¡_ in fact we grew stronger.
However, overconfidence clouds good decision-making. We missed not boldly reacting to the threat of iPhone when we saw it in January over four years ago. We laughed and said they are trying to put a computer on a phone, that it won¡¯t work. We should have made the QNX-like transition then. We are now 3-4 years too late. That is the painful truth¡_ it was a major strategic oversight and we know who is responsible.
Jim, in referring to our current transition recently said: ¡°No other technology company other than Apple has successfully transitioned their platform. It¡¯s almost never done, and it¡¯s way harder than you realize. This transition is where tech companies go to die.¡±
To avoid this death, perhaps it is time to seriously consider a new, fresh thinking, experienced CEO. There is no shame in no longer being a CEO. Mike, you could focus on innovation. Jim, you could focus on our carriers/customers¡_ They are our lifeblood.
8) Democratise. Engage and interact with your employees ¡ª please!
Reach out to all employees asking them on how we can make RIM better. Encourage input from ground-level teams¡ªwithout repercussions¡ªto seek out honest feedback and really absorb it.
Lastly, we¡¯re all reading the news and many are extremely nervous, especially when we see people get fired. We need an injection of confidence: share your strategy and ask us for support. The headhunters have already started circling and we are at risk of losing our best people.
Now would be a great time to internally re-brand and re-energize the workplace. For example, rename the company to just ¡°BlackBerry¡± to signify our new focus on one QNX product line. We should also address issues surrounding making RIM an enjoyable workplace. Some of our offices feel like Soviet-era government workplaces.
The timing is perfect to seriously evaluate at our position and make these major changes. We can do it!
Sincerely,
A RIM Employee
Cyrus King
quote:
Originally posted by VDub Cyrus King
Do you use multiple iTunes accounts in the app store??
So i finally got everything to work. I deleted some previous remnants of apps that were installed through cyrdia long time ago. Their icons were still in my itunes and i deleted them.
deleted my backup, did a fresh backup, and restored an hour ago. saw all the apps loading from icloud perfectly this time in its place.
Im impressed the most at how fast and convenient this method is. i wonder when its released in the fall if it will be this fast and convenient with the whole apple population using icloud.
E2EK1EL
quote:
Originally posted by Cyrus King
So i finally got everything to work. I deleted some previous remnants of apps that were installed through cyrdia long time ago. Their icons were still in my itunes and i deleted them.
deleted my backup, did a fresh backup, and restored an hour ago. saw all the apps loading from icloud perfectly this time in its place.
Im impressed the most at how fast and convenient this method is. i wonder when its released in the fall if it will be this fast and convenient with the whole apple population using icloud.
After 3 years, you clowns don’t even listen.
Always do a clean restore when you’re coming from:
A)Jailbreak to jailbreak
B)Jailbreak to stock
You’ll always have traces of system files here and there, even when you restore or update from a previous jailbroken "back up".
I don’t even know why I bother to post up tips & advices anymore.
Cyrus King
quote:
Originally posted by E2EK1EL
After 3 years, you clowns don’t even listen.
Always do a clean restore when you’re coming from:
A)Jailbreak to jailbreak
B)Jailbreak to stock
You’ll always have traces of system files here and there, even when you restore or update from a previous jailbroken "back up".
I don’t even know why I bother to post up tips & advices anymore.
I did that. Actually there is a small problem that i dont think relates to what i said.
I keep seeing "cloudbrowse" trying to load. Its always trying to download, but it wont.
Ive restored this phone several times. I dont know what the this
is happening.
E2EK1EL
quote:
Originally posted by Cyrus King
I did that. Actually there is a small problem that i dont think relates to what i said.
I keep seeing "cloudbrowse" trying to load. Its always trying to download, but it wont.
Ive restored this phone several times. I dont know what the this
is happening.
Notice when you sync to iTunes "transferring Safari safe data"?
Cyrus King
quote:
Originally posted by E2EK1EL
Notice when you sync to iTunes "transferring Safari safe data"?
YES!!! I always saw that.. didnt know what it was. thought is was something to do with the 10.5 itunes i needed to upgrade to beta 2
