Russian Eugene Kaspersky, CEO and founder of the IT security company Kaspersky Lab, stated during the AusCERT security conference in Australia that Windows is a safer operating system compared to iOS, OS X and Android. The cyber security expert also added that Microsoft has been making serious efforts to block most types of attack and keep the users protected with its upcoming Windows 10.
With his security firm Kaspersky Lab analyzing more than 300,000 types of malware every day, the company has been developing advanced ways in preventing threats that would affect computers globally. They have been collecting data from their 400 million active subscribers about virus and malware samples to generate statistics that allow them to see which operating systems are the most vulnerable to hackers.
Mobile banking has been a known target of criminals as many people shift to managing finances through social networks and email accounts. Kaspersky has even provided an extreme solution—"disconnect from the Internet"—for the protection of all devices. He also mentioned that he does not own any smartphone and has been using an old Sony Ericsson cellular phone for communication purposes.
Kaspersky mentioned that antivirus nowadays is not about the traditional virus prevention but about strengthening data against espionage, sabotage and cybercrime. He explained that although all systems, especially the Internet of Things, are susceptible to modern attacks, cybercriminals have been obsessed with iOS and OS X for their many vulnerabilities.
He noted that even though it is very hard to develop malware for the iPhone system due to the fact that its operating system is closed to outside programmers, every system has a weakness and that makes the iPhone the biggest potential security risk among mobile platforms. The worst-case scenario that could happen is if millions of Apple devices were infected, antivirus companies would not be able to develop an antivirus solution as they do not have any access to Apple security systems.
As regards Android, Kaspersky pointed out that since it is a more open system, it would be easier to imagine "millions of brutal attacks," but antivirus programmers could immediately develop anti-malware applications as well since it is an open platform.
Interestingly, Kaspersky referred to Windows-operated smartphones as "so far very clean," given how the security of the mobile platform of Microsoft is as tight as the level of security offered by Apple.
iOS and Android have cornered a bigger share of the mobile OS market compared to Windows. The risks for Windows smartphones may therefore be less.
On a positive note, Kaspersky stated that the best answer lies in education, information sharing and law enforcement to prevent the spread of cyber attacks.
