Apple's iOS is safer than the Android operating system as a safer environment, "but the damage to mobile devices is likely to be high because smartphones are always connected, they always carry some personal data, and they are even equipped with small cameras, microphones, and positioning devices -- just like the spies carried in old movies," says McAfee (http://www.mcafee.com), the security software company.

"The core of contemporary OS’s, such as iOS and Android, is based on Unix/Linux, which makes the system reasonably secure," the company says in a report. "However, due to the competitive pressure of the market, the manufacturers frequently prioritize time-to-market concerns over security and may add core drivers and applications that are insufficiently tested. There could also be flaws in implementing updates for the firmware and OS that would make the robustness of the OS core irrelevant -- as an attack may be able to entirely replace it."

Apple’s iOS is currently the biggest rival of Android. McAfee says that Apple so far has done an excellent job of securing its devices. "As we write this there were no reported cases of malware for iPhones that have not been jailbroken," the report says. "(Jailbreaking opens the iPhone to unauthorized apps, posing a security risk because it allows any unsigned software to run.) "