Study reveals Android apps leak private information

A new study from anti-malware firm Dasient has revealed that many Android apps are leaking private information to unauthorised servers outside the business.

The firm analysed 10,000 Android applications, and found that more than 800 of them were leaking information, according to security site Dark Reading.

This is a concern for enterprises, as an increasing number of consumer devices, including those based on the Android platform, are finding their way into offices and onto corporate networks.

The report added that malware targeting Android devices is also on the rise.

Yesterday, YouGov published a report commissioned by Citrix Online revealing that many enterprises see productivity improvements once they allow consumer devices into the workplace.

However, only half of those organisations admitted that they are aware of all devices which are allowed to access corporate networks, meaning that these untracked Android devices could be prevalent within a business.

Speaking to Computing recently, John Harris, chairman of knowledge sharing and networking group the Corporate IT Forum, said that the consumerisation trend is unavoidable.

"Getting to grips with consumerisation, and figuring out how we can implement it in a safe, but productive way in the enterprise is the big challenge," he said.

However, Raj Samani, EMEA CTO for leading security firm McAfee, said that the potential loss of devices represented a larger risk than malware in terms of data leakage.

"Some 80,000 phones were reported as stolen in London last year. I would argue that that's where the bulk of the risk is," said Samani.

"If even five or 10 per cent of those were storing corporate data, it poses a huge risk."