Tech experts warned Android users of a security flaw this week: Hackers could modify an Android code into a "master key" that could turn 99 percent of the devices dormant and make them vulnerable to data theft.
Jeff Forristal, of
Bluebox Security, wrote on his corporate blog that the security flaw could affect any Android device that has been purchased in the last few years.
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"The implications are huge," Forristal said on his blog. "This vulnerability, around at least since the release of Android 1.6 . . . could affect any Android phone released in the last 4 years – or nearly 900 million devices– and depending on the type of application, a hacker can exploit the vulnerability for anything from data theft to creation of a mobile botnet."
The vulnerability stems from discrepancies on how Android apps are cryptographically verified, which would allow an attacker to modify application packages
without breaking their cryptographic signatures, IDG News Service reported.
"This is important for the Android security model because it ensures that sensitive data stored by one application in its sandbox can only be accessed by new versions of that application that are signed with the original author's key," Lucian Constantin of IDG reported. "The vulnerability identified by the Bluebox researchers effectively allows attackers to add malicious code to already signed APKs without breaking their signatures."
There is some good news, however. Forristal confirmed that one third party device, the Samsung Galaxy S4, already has the fix, which indicates that some device manufacturers have already started releasing patches. Google has not released patches for its Nexus devices yet, but the company is working on it, he said.
Bluebox Security suggests that Android users exercise caution when downloading an app. Enterprises with BYOD implementations should use this news to prompt all users to update their devices and emphasize the importance of keeping apps up to date all the time.
On the corporate side, information technology specialists should move beyond device management and focus on deep device integrity checking to secure corporate data.
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