Computer security firm McAfee has released their “McAfee Threats Report: Second Quarter 2011”. The report talks in detail about security challenges like hactivist groups, continuous growth of computer malware and Android’s rise to malware supremacy. According to the report:

This quarter Android OS-based malware became the most popular target for mobile malware developers. That’s a rapid rise for Android, which outpaces second place Java Micro Edition threefold.

As we watch steady, significant growth in the mobile malware threat landscape, many of the same functions and features of PC-based threats are already part of the codebase. Mobile threats already take advantage of exploits, employ botnet functionality, and even use rootkit features for stealth and permanence.

Maliciously modified apps are still a popular vector for infecting devices: Corrupt a legitimate app or game and users will download and install malware on their smartphones by themselves.

Infiltrating popular modified apps this quarter were the malware Android/Jmsonez.A, Android/ Smsmecap.A, and the Android/DroidKungFu, and Android/DrdDreamLite families.

In less than one month this is the second report that says that malware infestation on Android platform has increased fivefold in past six months. We think the two main factors contributing to this rise in malware on Android are uncurated Android Market (app store) and pirated apps. Android users should be very careful in downloading and installing apps. You can read the full PDF of McAfee report here.