The flaw lets JailbreakMe open up an Apple operating system, and enables the user to load non Apple-approved applications on to an Apple device. JailbreakMe brought the security risk to light, finally causing Apple to for for iPhone and iPod touch and for iPad this week. (By the way, doesn't this sound a lot like the same learned about in late July?)

But the threat to the iOS is not the operating system itself but in , such as the Safari browser, QuickTime, Java, or apps from Adobe. Nonetheless, it's Apple that bears the responsibility for monitoring security, since it's made the choice to use the software and package it for users. This is a weird conundrum since Apple believes in the "walled garden" approach to applications. Shouldn't it be patrolling the garden more?

Android has similar issues, such as an innocuous Jackeey wallpaper application that from each phone that downloaded its application. Neither JailBreakMe nor Jackeey were hacking into anyone's phone; however, their code could be used for evil rather than good, which worries most security experts.

So how does Apple's security for its mobile operating system stack up against that of Google's Android, the biggest competitor?

1. Walled Garden v. the Wild Jungle