Apple + Security & Privacy

More and more people are using smartphones, such as Apple’s iPhone, but also the Blackberry, Palm Treo and other devices. Many of these phones’ users don’t realize that these devices are computers; they’re not just mobile communication devices, but more and more they do the same things as computers. You can surf the web, run applications, edit documents, send and receive e-mail; you can do all the things you’d do on a desktop or laptop computer.

In an article published by Macworld, from its sister publication Network World, John Cox asks the question. Should people – especially those in the enterprise – worry about smartphone viruses? Current smartphone viruses, of which there are few, can propagate via Bluetooth, sending themselves to many devices automatically, and others can spread via MMS. While this vector is a threat, it has been contained so far. But a larger issue is the type of threat that can come from browsing the web, as cross-site scripting vulnerabilities are discovered almost daily.

No malware has yet targeted the iPhone, but it is no more immune from such threats than any other platform or device. If anything, the fact that the iPhone runs on Mac OS X makes it more vulnerable, since hackers are becoming familiar with the platform and are learning how to sneak past its defenses, as we have seen recently.

So while there’s no need to worry yet, there’s a good chance that malware will be a major source of worry for smartphone users in the near future. Smartphone users should work with the same level of security as computer users. No device is immune.