McAfee’s Q2 2011 results reveal that malware on Android shot up 76-percent thanks to its massive popularity. Even more, McAfee’s “Malware Zoo” is expected to reach 75 million inhabitants by the end of the year. No feeding the malware, please.

Google’s Android operating system has become quite popular with consumers and manufacturers alike, but it’s also becoming increasingly more popular with hackers. Tuesday McAfee released its McAfee Threats Report: Second Quarter 2011 (pdf) report which claims that the amount of malware targeted at Android devices jumped 76-percent since last quarter, making Google’s popular OS the most attacked mobile operating system ever.

Surprised? You shouldn’t be given the number of devices Android commands and its seemingly “open” nature. But if those numbers weren’t bad enough, McAfee’s report claims that 2011 has also resulted in the busiest ever first half-year in malware history, including a first-ever appearance of Mac fake AV and a significant uptick in rootkits.

“This year we’ve seen record-breaking numbers of malware, especially on mobile devices, where the uptick is in direct correlation to popularity,” said Vincent Weafer, senior vice president of McAfee Labs. “Overall attacks are becoming more stealth and more sophisticated, suggesting that we could see attacks that remain unnoticed for longer periods of time. High-profile hacktivist groups have also changed the landscape by drawing a line between attacks for personal gain and attacks meant to send a message.”

McAfee said that its “Malware Zoo” is expected to reach 75 million inhabitants (samples) by the end of the year. The security firm saw 12 million unique samples alone in the first half of 2011 – a 22-percent jump over 2010′s numbers – thus totaling approximately 65 million by the end of June.

“With the vast amount of personal and business data now found on user’s mobile phones, mobile malware is steadily increasing, often mimicking the same code as PC-based threats. In the second quarter of 2011, Android OS-based malware surpassed Symbian OS for the most popular target for mobile malware developers,” McAfee said. “While Symbian OS and Java ME remain the most targeted to date, the rapid rise in Android malware in Q2 indicates that the platform could become an increasing target for cybercriminals – affecting everything from calendar apps, to comedy apps to SMS messages to a fake Angry Birds updates.”

Hackers are also setting their sights on Mac users, as Q2 2011 results show an increased number of fake anti-virus programs popping up on Mac computers. “There are more Mac users than ever before, and as organizations increasingly adopt Macs for business use, Apple now has become more a target for malware authors,” the firm warned.

To read the entire report, download the PDF file here.