All of the recent rumors about Google releasing a "gPhone" were finally put to rest with their release of Android, which is a software stack for mobile devices. Android includes an operating system (Linux), middleware, and some default applications like a browser.
(Click for larger image)
Applications are developed using Java and use a framework provided by Google including their own virtual machine (Dalvik virtual machine). The entire framework is open source and Google (as part of the Open Handset Alliance) wants to bring openness to the mobile ecosystem, allowing anyone to write applications and make use of all of the functionality available on handsets.
Some of us (Ollie Whitehouse, Eduardo Tang, and myself) are happy owners of the iPhone. However, not because we are constantly listening to music or using a pinching motion with our fingers to see pictures zoom and shrink, but because we get to analyze the attack surface. While the iPhone itself will surely evolve via new models, software, and patches, this blog will consist of a rundown of our initial thoughts.
In the default out-of-the-box configuration for the average user, you can not run code on the device. This makes the platform less risky than other mobile platforms and desktop operating systems like Windows. If you can't run code, you can't run malicious code. Further, the AJAX/Web 2.0 applications that can utilize the phone's services (such as the ability to make calls) normally prompts the user before the action takes place. This prevents automatic dialing and things like SMS worms.
The release of the Apple iPhone immediately raised the eyebrows of those in security. The iPhone's operating system is based on OS X and thus, some observers assumed malicious code would be possible and potentially rampant.
However, these concerns were a bit premature. Steve Jobs has confirmed that consumers will not be allowed to install just any third party applications. “These are devices that need to work, and you can’t do that if you load any software on them,” he said. “That doesn’t mean there’s not going to be software to buy that you can load on them coming from us. It doesn’t mean we have to write it all, but it means it has to be more of a controlled environment.” [New York Times]
The lack of the ability to install just any software will greatly mitigate the risk of malicious code on Apple iPhones. Can malicious software exist? Will malicious software exist? Probably, but the amount of malicious software will definitely not be on the scale as it is today...
