New study finds that iPhones are actually more vulnerable than Android phones

The war between Apple and Android has always led to heated debate — sometimes leading even to bloodshed. People love to argue which is better, which has the best apps, and which is safer from viruses and malware. 

Most people tend to think Apple's closed-off iOS ecosystem is safer, but a new study suggests Android may actually be safer than Apple’s iOS – or at least slightly.

Checkmarx and AppSec Labs combed through hundreds of the most popular apps in the Apple App Store and Google’s Play Store and found that there were several security risks and vulnerabilities.

According to the report, about 40% of all iOS apps were found to have potentially catastrophic vulnerabilities for system stability and data protection, compared to 36% of Android’s apps. While the gap is obviously small, it begins to erode away the idea that Apple’s enclosed ecosystem is safer than Google’s open one.

GeekTime spoke with Amit Ashbel from Checkmarx, who explained that while some security flaws could be considered low level threats, a staggering 38% of all the apps they looked at actually posed a significant risk to users and had the potential to cause serious harm. He went on to explain that the root cause of these holes in security stemmed from vulnerabilities written into the code by developers during the beginning stages of the app.

“The mobile application industry as a whole is lagging behind on secure coding best practices,” Ashbel said.

So while this recent study may give Android fans something to brag about to their friends with iPhones and iPads, it looks like both platforms could stand to beef up their security.