Eric Schmidt says Android is more secure than iOS

[Brandon263]

Here we go again:

Eric Schmidt calls Android 'more secure than the iPhone'


Google's Eric Schmidt has a reputation for raising eyebrows with his public proclamations, so this latest episode should come as little surprise — the company chairman declared during the Gartner Symposium/ITxpo that Android has a security advantage over Apple's iPhone. In comments reported by ZDNet, Schmidt responded to a question from Gartner analyst David Willis as such:

Willis: "If you polled many people in this audience they would say Google Android is not their principal platform... When you say Android, people say, wait a minute, Android is not secure."

Schmidt: "Not secure? It's more secure than the iPhone."

The answer reportedly drew laughs from the audience in attendance. Although Schmidt apparently did not give a direct explanation, he pointed to Android's billion-plus device activations and stringent security testing.

"You will be happier with Gmail, Chrome and Android more than you can possibly imagine."

Schmidt also pre-empted the long-standing criticism that Android is a fragmented platform by pointing to Google's unified Play store. "With Android we have an agreement for vendors that you keep the Android stores compatible and that is a great breakthrough for Android," he said. A recent US government survey declared that the lack of an upgrade path for many Android devices could pose a malware risk. But Schmidt argues that "the key thing" is that "when you buy an Android phone the apps are compatible."

"Android is very secure," said Schmidt at the end of the session, where he discussed other topics including the future of email, consumers' privacy expectations, and the possibility of Google Now in the enterprise. "You will be happier with Gmail, Chrome and Android more than you can possibly imagine."

http://www.theverge.com/2013/10/7/4814422/eric-schmidt-says-android-is-more-secure-than-iphone

 

[Jessica Lares]

Oops.

The answer reportedly drew laughs from the audience in attendance.

 

[chagla]

contrary to popular beliefs, its not like the moment you use Windows PC you are infested with viruses and malwares. same with Android. it's always the USER/YOU. YOU have to do something to get a malicious software on your computer or devices.

so how is it device security deficiency? where's the talk about user responsibility?

i can encrypt my Android phone. i can encrypt my storage. i dont have this malware issue on my android. why not? Its because i get my apps from legitimate sources like Google play store and Amazon. my god if people simply remembered this, android wouldn't get a bad reputation. its just like the warez programs on PC. uninformed users download pirated/malware APKs from websites, install on their phone -> Android gets a bad reputation. yes, this makes a lot of sense.

 

[T5BRICK]

I think to really define "more secure," you really need to first define the metric by which you're measuring security.

It looks like Android has had less vulnerabilities over it's life:
http://www.cvedetails.com/vulnerability-list/vendor_id-1224/product_id-19997/Google-Android.html

http://www.cvedetails.com/vulnerability-list/vendor_id-49/product_id-15556/Apple-Iphone-Os.html

On the other hand, the ability to side-load applications on stock Android poses a huge security risk, but as chagla pointed out, the responsibility here falls on the user.

 

[Technarchy]

Let's say Eric is right, considering he was laughed at would indicate there is a significant perception issue when it comes to android security.

 

[Carlanga]

Posted yesterday in MR front:
https://www.macrumors.com/2013/10/08/eric-schmidt-says-android-is-more-secure-than-the-iphone-prompting-laughter/