More than a billion Android devices are at risk of hacking because they are not protected by new security updates.
Internet consumer watchdog? (Which?) said in a report. Anyone using Android phones running on operating versions prior to Android 7 are at risk.
According to Google’s own data, 42.1 percent of Android users worldwide are using devices with the 6.0 or earlier operating system.
According to the Operating Security Bulletin, no security updates were released in 2019 for Android systems prior to Android 7. After examining the data, the watchdog said that 2 out of 5 Android devices worldwide are no longer receiving security updates.
The organization tested 5 phones: Motorola X, Samsung Galaxy A5, Galaxy S6, Sony Xperia Z2 and LG/Google Nexus 5 which asked antivirus lab AV Comparatives to infect these devices with malware. And it successfully infected every phone with malware.
According to the report, the findings were shared with Google, but it did not confirm that it plans to provide updates to users using these older devices.
The watchdog has called on Google and other companies to be more transparent about how long they will provide updates to smart devices.
Kate Bevan, computing editor at Watchdog, said: “It’s very worrying that expensive Android devices have such a short shelf life and the lack of security support is leaving millions of users vulnerable to hackers.”
He said that Google and other phone makers should come forward with security updates and provide consumers with clear information about how long they will be provided and when those updates will be stopped.
#Android #devices #vulnerable #hacking
2024-09-01 23:08:14
