Android Is As Secure As Apple's iOS, Google Security Director Claims

A lot of people assume that Google’s Android operating system is a lot less secure than Apple’s iOS for the iPhone. Adrian Ludwig, the director of security at Android, has busted those claims stating that it’s as secure as that of the iPhone OS.

“For most threat models they are nearly identical in terms of their platform-level capabilities,” Ludwig told Vice’s Motherboard. He also said during a security conference in Manhattan on Tuesday that the Google Pixel and the iPhone are pretty much equal in terms of security, adding that Android will be better soon. “In the long term, the open ecosystem of Android is going to put it in a much better place.”

Ludwig also mentioned Android’s built-in security software called Safety Net, which is capable of scanning 400 million devices and more than 6 billion apps a day. The software makes sure that only a small number of devices are vulnerable to malware. He also showed a graph that indicates that only a measly one percent of Android devices are affected by any PHAs or Potentially Harmful Applications.

He then went on to talk about the controversial Stagefright bugs that affected all Android devices last year. Ludwig said that despite being a threat to all its users, no one has been hacked using the Stagefright exploit yet.

He also added that mass exploitation is something that he’s not expecting to see at any point in the Android ecosystem. This is because Android is being used by many different manufacturers implementing different codes on the software, as pointed out by Android Authority. This is one huge advantage it has over iOS, which only runs on Apple’s own mobile devices.

He also noted that Android’s security has even gotten better in the last year. However, Ludwig did admit that mobile network carriers and phone makers that use Android should also further improve their speed when it comes to rolling out software updates and security patches.