New Mobile OS Versions Improve Security

The competition between mobile OSes is heating up, with Apple’s iOS 8 and Google’s Android Lollipop in tight competition, as the public discovers their features and what these OSs can do for them. There are notable changes and significant improvements in these releases, particularly in their default settings.

Encryption by default seems to be the primary selling points of both OSs. With rising awareness about data protection and consumers demanding better privacy and security on their devices, both major mobile OSes are in a neck and neck race when it comes to marketing their product’s safety features.

Apple: TouchID and Encryption

Apple now allows third-party app developers to use Touch ID, giving them more power to authenticate their users. iPhone users also see a significant modification in how apps can track locations. In older iOS versions, the options were limited to “always on/always off”. Now the option to select “when app is open” for location tracker is added, giving users more freedom and control over apps tracking their whereabouts.

Eye Candy

Google, on the other hand, had Android L automatically encrypt data in mobile devices, as opposed to manually configuring this (as was the case in previous Android versions). Any data inside a smartphone running Android L will have to be unlocked with the user’s password, a very similar to Apple iOS 8.

One can remotely locate and reset to factory settings lost or stolen smartphones. This provides an added security layer to consumers who don’t want strangers capitalizing on their any of the data stored in their devices; users can also render the phone practically useless as phones running Android L can no longer be reset to factory settings without the registered owner’s password, preventing the decide from being sold off.

There is more to the mobile threat landscape than meets the eye. The multilayered security features in iOS 8 and the Android L more-than-welcome improvements. For more information on the protective measures in mobile operating systems, read our monthly mobile report, “The New Security Features of iOS 8 and Android Lollipop.”

Post from: Trendlabs Security Intelligence Blog – by Trend Micro

New Mobile OS Versions Improve Security