Apple's SVP of worldwide marketing Phil Schiller took to Twitter to take a crack at Google's Android, one of the company's biggest competitors in the mobile space, over security concerns.

Schiller tweeted the words "Be safe out there" along with a link to F-Secure's report on mobile security threats, which pinned Android as having security vulnerabilities. 

In the past, Android has been found to have several viruses, because of its open approach. There is no approval process for developers when submitting an app, nor is there any restriction on what can be downloaded from the web. 

Apple, on the other hand, has a walled approach where it approves or denies apps on the App Store. In F-Secure's report, the research company found that 79 per cent of the 300 mobile threats of 2012 took place on Android, while only 0.7 per cent made their way over to iOS.

It's interesting that such a high-ranking executive at Apple would make such a shot over Twitter. This isn't the first time for Schiller, who once posted a snarky comment at Instagram for creating its highly anticipated Android app. 

Is the virus problem really as bad as people make it out to be? Maybe, maybe not. Several researchers have noted that viruses seem to be limited on Google Play and emerge only when users venture out into the unknown.

Still, tech companies making fun of each other always make for a great laugh. 

Image: PhS/Flickr