> Once thought to be [unhackable](http://www.productiveorganizer.com/android-productivity/android-phones-with-encrypted-bootloaderunhackable/), the [Android](http://www.networkworld.com/columnists/2010/072610-gearhead.html) phone is anything but, according to researchers presenting at Black Hat 2010.
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> Not only has malicious software cloaked in a [wallpaper application]() stolen personal information from [infected phones](http://www.networkworld.com/news/2010/070610-smartphone-essentials.html?fsrc=netflash-rss) and sent it to a Website in China, but researchers from Lookout Mobile Security have found a way to take the phones over completely—including top-of-the-line models hawked by major wireless carriers.
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> In one presentation, Lookout’s CEO John Herring said the [Jackeey Wallpaper app](http://www.networkworld.com/news/2010/072210-55-of-google-android-smartphones.html?source=NWWNLE_nlt_google_2010-07-28), which has been downloaded millions of times, can gather passwords, browser history, the subscriber ID and SIM card numbers and text messages.
via [macworld.com](http://www.macworld.com/article/153030/2010/07/android_security.html?lsrc=rss_main)
Who ever said Android was “unhackable?” It’s always been pretty common knowledge that Android has basically no real security. It’s “open”, after all. Which means anyone can install anything they want. Responsibility for keeping data secure is set squarely on the shoulders of the user, just as it was with Microsoft software 20 years ago.
I’ve always felt that lack of a truly signed security system was a poor decision on Google’s part. But it shouldn’t be surprising that people are hacking into Android phones via apps. As Android gets more and more popular, it won’t be long before spam bots, viruses, and more trojan horses start popping up all over the place. And Google will have little or no way to stop it.
People keep making the analogy between current day Google and the Microsoft of old, saying that history will repeat itself, with Apple losing market share to Google in droves over the next few years. I’ve always felt that was unlikely. Because it assumes that Apple hasn’t learned anything from history, which is ridiculous. And it assumes that conditions are similar between PC adoption during that era and modern cell phone adoption, which they are not.
But Google is following Microsoft’s business model, right down to its lax stance on security issues. And that’s going to hurt Google in the end.
