New bug in Android devices makes them vulnerable to hacking attacks

Cybersecurity experts have discovered  a new bug in Google’s widely used Android operating system  that makes the  Android devices more vulnerable to hacking attacks. According to the researchers at cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, attackers can use the bug to launch attacks and take control of devices.

CrowdStrike, which will present its findings at a major computer security conference in San Francisco, next week, stated that by taking advantage of this security flaw, attackers can send an email or text message to the device user that appears to be from a trusted source. The message urges the user to click on a link, which if done infects the device, letting the hacker gains complete control of the device, enabling him/her to monitor the location of the device and track phone calls.

Dmitri Alperovitch, chief technology officer and co-founder of CrowdStrike stated that the firm conducted the research to highlight how mobile devices are increasingly vulnerable to a type of attack, where hackers use software flaws to deliver malicious links or documents to the devices. He added that smartphone users need to be aware of this type of attack, which cannot be identified or prevented by mobile device security software.

“With modifications and perhaps use of different exploits, this attack will work on every smartphone device and represents the biggest security threat on those devices,” Alperovitch stated.

Google devices are not the only ones that are prone to such attacks. In July 2009, researchers Charlie Miller and Collin Mulliner figured out a way to attack Apple’s iPhone by sending malicious code embedded in text messages, invisible to the phone’s user. Apple repaired the bug in the software, later, after it was being pointed out.