Hackers set their sights on Android phones
Criminals who infect personal computers worldwide with malicious software programs, hoping to steal credit card numbers and other personal data from computer users, are setting their sights on a new target: the millions of smartphones running Google Inc.’s Android software.
“People never thought about virus infection on smartphones, and they’re going to regret it,’’ said Harry Wang, director of mobile research at Parks Associates, a technology research firm in Dallas. “They are pretty much a computer in your pocket,’’ and therefore just as tempting to data thieves as a desktop PC.
But the uniquely open design of Google’s smartphone operating system, which lets anyone easily distribute software for Android phones, is especially vulnerable. And the Android phone market is a large and tempting target for criminal hackers. According to market research firm comScore Inc., Android is the most popular smartphone platform in the United States, accounting for 36 percent of the nation’s 74.6 million smartphones.
