Nearly one billion Android devices are at risk due to a security flaw that allows cyber attackers complete access to all the data stored on the phone including access to the functionality of the phone such as the ability to switch on the camera and microphone.
This vulnerability was identified by a security company, Check Point. The vulnerability is known as ‘QuadRooter’ and it affects all Android devices using the Qualcomm chip – a staggering 900 million devices. Exploiting this vulnerability won’t be difficult as the attacker could trick the user through links or catchy content or other forms to download and install the app on the phone. The app does not require any special permission and allows the attacker to have complete ‘root’ access on an Android device.
Qualcomm has given a statement: “we have issued a patch which Google will release next month in its monthly fixes update.” This means that Nexus devices will be getting it earlier on and others will follow suit days later. Qualcomm chips are being installed on other devices as we speak. On the other hand, Google provides the software for these Android devices, hence it won’t be able to make the security patches as the security updates will need to come from the manufacturer of the hardware which is Qualcomm.
Note that the list of affected devices includes:
Check Point further claims that ‘no one has a device at this point which is fully secure’. This just goes on to stress the fact that no Android device in secure and Google or Qualcomm must look into it immediately before the data stored on these Android devices becomes accessible to hackers. As for the users, be vigilant and do not click on any suspicious links and avoid downloading apps from third-party stores.