Google Engineer Claims Android Security Now On Par With Apple iPhone

There's been no shortage of stories regarding Android security of the years, a fact that has worried some fans of the "openness" of the OS. Each new security story makes it seem more likely that the OS will become a little more locked-down, a la iOS. Well, that might not happen after all, because as it stands today, Google is confident that Android is just as secure as iOS.

This was revealed at a security conference in New York last week, by Google's Director of Security for Android, Adrian Ludwig. He plainly states, "For almost all threat models, they [Android and iOS] are nearly identical in terms of their platform-level capabilities."

How's that possible when Android is, by design, more open? It's because if something bad is about to happen to an Android mobile device, the modern Android OSes will flag the issue and prevent it before it happens. That applies to those downloading APK installers via less-than-ideal ways, as well as other scans now built into the OS.

Given Android's history of security issues, we wouldn't blame you if you felt a bit skeptical. One thing that can help bolster your confidence a bit, however, is knowledge of the fact that Google now scans 400 million devices each and every day for issues, as well as 6 billion apps. That's a daunting task to think about.

Ludwig doesn't just claim that Android is as secure as iOS; he also claims that it's going to only get better, as the entire platform being "open" can make it happen. Granted, it's hard to take that comment too seriously as Android has been open for many years, but it still does stand to reason that it can be improved. Google has had some serious mishaps over the past couple of years with Android security, so we'd imagine the company would love to rid that aura as quickly as possible.