Mobile app report identifies riskiest markets

Mobile security company TrustGo Mobile Inc.'s quarterly TrustGo Summer Mobile Mayhem Report revealed an upsurge in malicious and risky mobile application penetration globally during the second quarter of 2012. For the report, TrustGo scanned 1.7 million apps from 175 market regions, categorizing apps as certified (safe), malicious, high risk or low risk.

TrustGo reported that among the world's estimated 700 million smart phone users, a majority of app downloads come from app marketplaces, stores and download websites based in the United States, Europe, China and Russia. Further findings from the summer 2012 report include:

• Malicious apps grew to 25,580 from 11,822 during the first quarter 2012.

• China-based apps pose the highest risk with 33.2 percent flagged as risky.

• Over 1 in 6 apps on the global market could potentially compromise user security.

• Games lead in mobile threat risk; social media and productivity apps rank lowest.

• Ninety-four percent of high risk apps send user phone numbers to third parties.

"While viruses and risky apps are a global problem, some regions are more dangerous than others," said Xuyang Li, founder and Chief Executive Officer of TrustGo. "Many Chinese users can't access the Google Play marketplace, so a large number of third-party stores have popped up to fill the void. Unfortunately, this has made China's marketplaces especially insecure because many download sites haven't set up controls necessary to keep bad apps off their platforms."

According to Jeff Becker, TrustGo Head of Marketing, the key takeaway from the report is that no marketplace is completely safe. Ultimately, the consumer pays the price, he said.

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