Lack of Solutions as Issues Keep Coming

5. The solutions aren't there

For now, it's hard to find a simple way to stay safe from mobile threats. Sure, there are mobile applications designed to protect smartphones, like Kaspersky's Mobile Security 9 suite, and there haven't been many widespread outbreaks just yet. But the mobile-security market is a ticking time bomb. As this most recent malware scare has proved, keeping smartphone users safe is an uphill battle, to say the least.

6. The issues keep coming

It's also important to note that Android malware scares aren't slowing down. Proof-of-concepts started cropping up with increased frequency last year. Stories on the platform's security continued to sweep across the Web over the past several months, with security experts chiming in on Android's potential issues. Now scores of potential threats have emerged. The mobile concerns are continuing to intensify. As long as that continues, Android security will take center stage in the mobile market.

7. The malware is being downloaded

If the most recent spate of malware breakouts were just a proof-of-concept, few would care. After all, theoretical malware issues have been shown off before. They rarely amount to anything. But Google's decision to remove over 50 apps from the Android Market is much different. Malware-laced applications were downloaded to user smartphones. That means malware is on these devices and in the wild. This means that the problems and the damage can increase very quickly.

8. The Android Market is growing

It seems that at least so far, cyber-criminals have opted to target Android handset owners through the Android Market. But the problem is Google can't be expected to vet all the apps that flood into its store on a daily basis. The Android Market is exploding as more and more developers realize that the Google operating system will likely become the broadly dominant force in mobile software. It would only make sense that some malicious files would make their way into that marketplace because of that. The challenge now is to find the bad stuff amid all the good surrounding it.

9. It's still new

Windows security problems are something that consumers and enterprise customers around the globe deal with on a daily basis. They are very much aware of the problems that exist on Windows, and they've accepted them as part of their lives. But mobile-security problems are relatively new. The average mobile device user isn't as informed about them as he or she could be. As more mobile issues crop up this year, expect Android security to continue to be a big story.

10. Google's focus
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Google made a rather interesting acquisition on March 1: It bought a German security firm called Zynamics. For now, the company hasn't said much about what its plans are for Zynamics. But it's quite possible that it will use the firm's expertise to improve Android security. If nothing else, Google's Zynamics acquisition seems to show that the company is serious about security. If it keeps focused on that, it might not be long before it finds itself one step ahead of malicious hackers, rather than one step behind as it seems to be right now.