In a virtual interview at the startup and technology conference VivaTech, the CEO of Apple Tim Cook said that Android has 47 times more malware than iOS. Guillaume Lacroix, CEO of video platform Brut and the interviewer, then asked how this was possible.
“Because we designed iOS so that there’s an App Store and every app is reviewed before it goes to the store. And we’ve been focused on privacy for decades. Steve [Jobs] used to say that privacy was about saying in plain language what people are signing up for and whether they’re giving their permission. That permission has to be asked for over and over again. We’ve always tried to work from that perspective,” Cook said.
Of course, this doesn't answer how Cook arrived at this claim that there are 47 times more malware on Android than on iOS. Well, searching only for articles published by Vida Celular, I found 4 posts about malware on iOS, while the search for malware on Android yielded 12 posts on the subject. According to the website FayerWayer, according to their news feed about the difference in malware between iOS and Android, the number given by Cook didn't seem to be too disproportionate.
iOS does have a reputation for being more secure than Android, but one of the world's leading cybersecurity experts told Forbes which is not quite like that.
Gil Shwed, founder of Check Point, a multinational IT security company, said that Android devices are more susceptible to attacks, but it is easier for users to find solutions to protect their devices. Apple makes devices less susceptible to attacks, but it is harder for users to protect their devices. According to Shwed, iOS users are left relying on Apple to do security work. And with companies and users facing a much greater influx of attacks now, which the expert said began happening with the pandemic, the gap between Android and iOS security risks is more “balanced” than ever.
As Shwed explained, employees working from home often have antivirus and other protections on their PCs. But few people accessing internal corporate systems for work from their smartphones have any such protection on their devices.
It remains to be seen whether Cook will clarify how the Apple came to this conclusion that Android has 47 times more malware than iOS in a future statement.
Image: Austin Community College/CC
