????移動惡意軟件的威脅正日益增長，但同時也給手機殺毒軟件生產廠商，特別是針對Android設備的廠商帶來巨大商機。

????位于舊金山的新創企業Lookout移動安全公司最近發布報告指出，今年，30%的Android手機用戶將會遭遇網絡安全威脅。報告同時指出，目前Android用戶遭遇惡意軟件的幾率是6個月前的2.5倍之多。據估計，2011年上半年，大約50萬到100萬Android用戶遭遇惡意軟件襲擊。

????Lookout聯合創始人兼首席技術官凱文?馬哈菲稱：“在PC平臺，黑客入侵必須破解他人的賬號，或是設法取得他們的信用證書。而在移動平臺，犯罪分子攫取錢財的難度要低得多。他們可以直接從用戶的手機話費中非法獲利。” Lookout的主要業務是出售安全應用程序，它能在用戶手機丟失或被盜竊的情況下保護手機，還能防御釣魚網站和惡意網站的侵襲。

????當然，Android并不是唯一一款成為犯罪分子目標的移動操作系統，而瞄準手機安全領域滾滾商機的也并非只有Lookout一家公司。蘋果（Apple）的iOS以及其它平臺同樣受到惡意軟件困擾，不過Lookout等公司指出，針對谷歌Android系統的惡意軟件最為常見。Android是一款流行的操作系統，谷歌（Google）宣稱已占據全球智能手機市場的幾乎半壁江山。Lookout稱，今年上半年，Android惡意應用程序數量從80激增到400。上周，企業軟件供應商CA Technologies的研究人員稱，他們發現一種新的Android惡意軟件能對感染手機的通話直接錄音。

????美國電話電報公司（AT&T）首席安全官愛德華?阿莫魯索說：“蘋果是封閉的生態系統，但谷歌不一樣。谷歌向市場開放Android系統，而一旦選擇開放，面臨的安全威脅也會隨之大增。”

????那么解決移動安全問題的有效途徑是什么呢？答案并不意外，美國電話電報公司稱，解決該問題的有效途徑是從網絡入手。在曼哈頓，阿莫魯索帶領著一個由40名研究人員組成的實驗室，他們正在開發一款移動安全產品，美國電話電報公司希望能將其銷售給企業和個人用戶。

????阿莫魯索表示：“在移動領域，設備只占據（用戶）體驗的很小部分，網絡則占據了（用戶）體驗的大部分。壞處是，一旦體驗不佳，我們就成了眾矢之的；好處是，它使我們有機會提高設備的安全性。”

????當然，美國電話電報公司并非惟一進軍移動安全市場的運營商。在最近舉辦的《財富》科技頭腦風暴大會上（Fortune Brainstorm TECH conference），威瑞森無線（Verizon Wireless）宣布將與Lookout合作，檢測旗下V Cast應用程序商店的惡意移動應用。與此同時，邁克菲（McAfee）和賽門鐵克（Symantec）等知名公司也紛紛推出了手機安全應用，這些公司在上世紀90年代都曾在PC機領域殺毒軟件領域創造過佳績。

????接下來是谷歌，該公司表示為了將“Android平臺的安全威脅降到最低”，已花費大量精力對層出不窮的應用程序掃描惡意軟件。谷歌還與硬件廠商和運營商積極合作，一旦確定安卓市場（Android Market）出現惡意軟件，他們將及時發布安全補丁。

????去年3月，在安卓市場出現多款惡意應用程序之后，谷歌在博客上發文稱：“安全是Android團隊的首要任務。我們將致力于開發新的防護措施，以避免將來再遭遇類似攻擊。”

????與此同時，Lookout的報告還指出，攻擊者正在使用“惡意廣告”等新技術，而且他們的破壞力也在不斷升級，他們能控制用戶的手機、個人數據和資金。馬哈菲表示：“解決安全問題沒有萬全之策。惡意軟件問題非常嚴峻，整個生態系統中的所有人都必須參與其中。”

????恐怕更可能出現的局面是生態系統中的所有人都會加入競爭，但無論如何，移動安全軟件現在才剛剛起步。

????譯者：項航

????Mobile malware is on the rise, and so is the market for companies that develop anti-virus software for cell phones -- particularly Android devices.

????According to a recent report from San Francisco-based startup Lookout Mobile Security, three out of 10 Android phone users will encounter a web-based threat on their device this year. The report also says that Android users are 2.5 times more likely to encounter malware today than they were six months ago. An estimated half million to one million people were affected by Android malware in the first half of 2011.

????"On the PC, you have to hack someone's account or get access to their credentials," says Kevin Mahaffey, co-founder and CTO of Lookout, which sells a security app that protects your phone if it's lost or stolen and blocks phishing and malware sites. "On mobile it's much easier for the bad guys to make money. They can directly monetize by charging to a user's phone bill."

????Of course, Android is not the only mobile operating system that the "bad guys" are targeting, and Lookout isn't the only company trying to capitalize on the growing security threats on cell phones. Apple's (AAPL) iOS and other platforms are not immune to malware, though reports like Lookout's suggest malicious applications have been most common on Google's (GOOG) popular Android OS. It now claims almost 50% of the worldwide smartphone market. According to Lookout, the number of Android apps infected with malware rose from 80 to 400 in the first half of this year. Just this week, researchers at enterprise software vendor CA Technologies said they uncovered new Android malware that can actually record conversations on infected phones.

????"Apple is a closed ecosystem, but Google's different," says Ed Amoroso, chief security officer at AT&T (T). "Google opened up the marketplace and once you open things up the security threat increases significantly."

????So what's the right approach to mobile security? Not surprisingly, AT&T says the answer to the security problem is in the network. Amoroso heads up a Manhattan-based lab of about 40 researchers who are working on a mobile security product that AT&T hopes to sell to both enterprise customers and consumers.

????"With mobility, the device is a small part of the experience and the network is a big part of the experience," says Amoroso. "That's bad in the sense that when the experience is lagging we take it on the chin, but it's also great because it gives us the opportunity to enhance the security."

????Naturally, AT&T's not the only carrier hoping to get into the mobile security market. At the recent Fortune Brainstorm TECH conference, Verizon Wireless (VZ) announced it would partner with Lookout to detect mobile threats on its V Cast App Store. Big-name security companies like McAfee and Symantec—who made their mark selling antivirus software for PCs in the 90s—have also come out with security features for phones.

????And then there's Google, which says it has made significant efforts to "minimize the security risks on Android" by scanning incoming applications for malware. It also works with its hardware and carrier partners to push security patches when a malicious app does make it into the Android Market.

????"Security is a priority for the Android team," Google said in a blog post last March, after a number of malicious apps became available in the Android Market. "And we're committed to building new safeguards to help prevent these kinds of attacks from happening in the future."

????In the meantime, Lookout's recent report says attackers are using new techniques like "malvertising" and upgrade attacks to take control of users' phones, personal data, and money. "There's no silver bullet in security," says Lookout's Mahaffey. "The malware problem is so hard, that it will take participation from everyone in the ecosystem."

????Competition from everyone in the ecosystem may be more like it, but either way it's still early days for mobile security software.