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Android malware attacks show perils of Google openness

This week's discovery of malware that hijacked tens of thousands of Android cellphones shows the pitfalls of Google's decision to make the operating system the Wikipedia of mobile platforms that offers apps written by virtually anyone.

The recent discovery of some 55 malware-tainted apps available in the Android Market shines a bright light on the dark side of its openness. The malware hid in legitimate titles that had been repackaged and distributed by three developers. Once installed, the apps exploited known vulnerabilities that gave the malware root access to a phone's most sensitive functions, according to this analysis from Lookout, which provides antimalware apps for Android, Blackberry, and Windows Mobile handsets.

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