By InDesign Media |

Jul 1, 2016 |

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Jul 1, 2016

By InDesign Media

With the launch of Play Protect and other new defense mechanisms, Google cracks down on security . A report releases which shows iOS malware growth outpacing that of Android.

After the Google Docs phishing attack, the company has been ramping up its security in recent months. It starts with the implementation of machine learning to improve the detection of phishing messages. And, the company now estimates it can block spam and malicious content with a 99.9 percent accuracy.

The following month, in June, Google added security controls to G Suite. This enables admins to block employees from accessing untrustworthy apps. The phishing attack cause by a bogus app is by using a Google sign-in. So, this feature helps to ensure admins can vet third-party apps.

Similarly, Google add a new warning screen for apps from developers which are yet to go through verification. You can still choose to continue, at your own risk, but it will promt a warning message. You must type “continue” in the field to help ensure the user has read the prompt. And, hasn’t just clicked ‘ok’ to get rid of the message (against our better judgement, most of us have probably done it at some point!)

New notices:

“We’re committed to fostering a healthy ecosystem for both users and developers,” wrote Google’s Naveen Agarwal and Wesley Chun in a blog post. “These new notices will inform users automatically if they may be at risk. It also enables them to make informed decisions to keep their information safe, and will make it easier to test and develop apps for developers.”

Now the company is putting its focus on Android security with the roll-out of Play Protect to all devices running Google Play Services 11 and up. All of the apps downloaded from the Play Store will be scanned to detect anything malicious. Just in case, if Google find something, they will remove it or blocked on the device. Of course, if the user is side-loading apps outside the official store, they still run a higher risk of being hit by a form of malware.

Speaking of, as a report from our sister publication EnterpriseCIO, the growth of malware targeting iOS has tripled and now outpaces Android which remained largely flat over the past couple of quarters. Mobile security company conduct the research.

Varun Kohli, Vice President of Marketing at Skycure, said, “iOS is used on one of the more popular devices. So, it is where hackers are focusing and that is where the money is. A more affluent community tends to use the iPhone.”

iOS still has some way to go before it has the same level of risk as Android. But, it’s good to see Google being more proactive about the security issue on its platform. Hopefully, the rapidly growing threat to iOS will ensure Apple doesn’t become complacent.