There has been a debate for years. Many consider the Apple mobile operating system, iOS, to be more secured than Android. But, is it really?
Eleven years after the launch of the first iPhone, Apple mobile devices now represent 25% of the market and are quite a phenomenon. According to tech chiefs, Apple’s iOS familiarity, usability and capabilities are the reasons why the operating system is so popular.
The way iPhones and iPads enhance work performance leads to a growing amount of collaborators and C-levels choosing iOS devices for both personal and corporate usages. Hence, the number of sensitive data manipulated on the specific OS is increasing, making it a valuable target for cybercriminals.
Now that data protection regulations are strengthening their enforcement and specifically regulating the mobile environment, some organizations choose to provide iOS devices to their collaborators believing there are inherently secured. However, the reality is not that Manichean.
The iOS devices are indeed more secure than those running the Android OS, for some reasons such as the promptness for security patches to be applied, or the fact that downloading applications from third-party stores is less easy. However, it does not mean that those devices are safe from being illegally exploited, far from it.
Hackers targeting iOS devices use many different techniques and tools that exploit applications, networks and even the device itself to exfiltrate valuable data (credentials, credit card numbers, intelligence…). Hackers purpose is to perform identity theft, illicit money transfer or to resell stolen data on the dark web. Indeed, the market behind the resale of corporate data is very lucrative and drives the number of cyber attacks targeting companies.
In this report, we go through the threats specifically designed to attack the Apple mobile operating system, iOS, and provide you with figures stating their volume and trends.
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