Almost one billion Android devices are affected by a serious security flaw which can give attackers access to all data and hardware, including the camera. The vulnerability, dubbed 'Quadrooter' was flagged by researchers from Check Point, an international cyber security company. It affects all devices which use a Qualcomm chip - thought to be in around 900 million phones and tablets.
Michael Shaulov, head of mobility product management at Check Point, told tech news website ZDNet two weeks ago of his frustration. He said: “No-one at this point has a device that's fully secure. That basically relates to the fact that there is some kind of issue of who fixes what between Qualcomm and Google.” An attacker would have to dupe a victim into installing a malicious app on the phone, by sending them a link to download, for example. The app would not require special permissions, allowing a hacker ' root' access, which includes all data and use of both the camera and microphone.
Qualcomm says it has issued a patch which Google will release next month in its monthly fixes update.
Nexus devices will get it first with other manufacturers expected to follow suit a few days later.
The list of popular affected devices includes but it not limited to, BlackBerry Priv and Dtek50, Google Nexus 5X, Nexus 6, Nexus 6P, LG G4, LG G5, LG V10, Sony Xperia Z Ultram, HTC One, HTC M9, HTC 10, Blackphone 1 and Blackphone 2.
Apple, BlackBerry, Google, HTC, LG, Microsoft, Motorola, and Samsung were all sent letters by America's Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Trade Commission earlier this month as part of an investigation into how and when they create fixes. The agencies do not believe patches are created quickly enough, leaving smartphone users vulnerable, ZDNet reports. –The Independent