The "Ultimate Cyber Privateer Platform"

Back in January of 2011 (read here) and again in March of that year (read here), I declared Android to be the ultimate cyber privateer smart phone. I now update that based on today's Network World article (read here): Android is the ultimate cyber privateer platform. Sure, it's also the most popular malware target these days, but that's because it's open and easily programmed. Nevertheless, to cyber privateers, your handy dandy Android is a portable war machine of immeasurable power. Crank up The Perfect Virus (outlined here) and consider the possibilities:

1. Take a tour of the White House and wirelessly install malware on every computer within Wi-Fi/Bluetooth range. Heck, you might even get the nuke codes from the president's "football."
2. Tour our local power utility and drop cyber bombs into SCADA devices.
3. Wardrive around the ritzy neighborhoods and capture passwords and contact lists from every Wi-Fi system dumb enough to broadcast their SSIDs.
4. Walk the halls of any major NYC office building and do major corporate espionage.
5. Ditto for the halls of Wall Street merger/acquisition firms, so you can get insider information for upcoming deals.

In short, the Android smart phone is a cyber privateer's best friend. Naturally, it is also the cyber criminal's best friend, which explains why so much malware development is now focused on the Android platform.

Too bad our current cybercrime laws make it impossible to do a "reconnaissance in force" whenever such a device "tickles" one of our systems.