Is Android Less Secure Than You Expected

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Many tickets have blended through the web this week, announcing that 99% of Android phones were vulnerable because of one bug.

In a statement earlier this month, Jeff Forristal a computer security researcher at BlueBox Labs, explained in detail the exploitation of security bug Android No. 8219321. The vulnerability was formalized in February this year by Google. It can potentially allow hackers to takeover an Android device via the implementation of a malicious code within a recognized Android application.

Concretely, this means that it is perfectly possible to hide in a legitimate application and recognized as such by Android, a malware which would then have access to the smartphone’s system. No need to explain the damage and leakage of informations that could allow. Sources state that this vulnerability is effective from Android 1.6 (Donut). Accumulated for 4 years, so there are more than 900 million phones affected, or 99% of Android devices.

We’ll know more in a few weeks at its conference called “Android root one to own them all” with right title, and on the site of BlueBox Labs. Let’s just hope that manufacturers and Google will quickly find and release solutions to this hole.

Meanwhile, you may be careful, and you can view the full study here.

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