Google’s Android Security 2016 Year In Review

7 years ago
March 29, 2017
1 reply
255 views

JP_
Retired Webrooter
1376 replies

"Google released its Android Security 2016 Year In Review report yesterday and it threw up some very interesting perspectives.

The most interesting one, and also the most controversial is that just 50% of all Android devices received a security update last year. While we can spend hours debating whether the news is good/bad, here is the industry perspective on it."

Read the full article on Teiss now!

+56

RetiredTripleHelix
Gold VIP
13734 replies
7 years ago
March 29, 2017

"Bad:
David Kennerley, Director of Threat Research at Webroot
'The report might show that half of Google’s devices are patched as an improvement on previous years, but it really isn’t enough.
'Android devices account for two thirds of devices globally, which means that a third of the world’s mobiles aren’t secure. This combined with the fact in our own research we’ve found Android apps pose a five-times-greater threat than others, then it really isn’t a pretty picture.
'There’s no single solution to this issue, we continue to witness malicious apps appearing on the Google’s official Play Store, though this should always been seen as the safest method to download new apps rather than third party stores. Malicious apps target older versions of Android, so people with older devices or those who have not updated their software are most at risk of being affected.
'The Android Stagefright vulnerability served as a huge wake-up call and in many ways forced Google into the real world with regards to a more responsive and transparent patching lifecycle. It’s great that a number of phone manufacturers are now partnering with Google in the releasing of timely updates thereby improving security.
'But the fact is, Android is still lagging far behind iOS in terms of security, the app stores are not as stringent and hackers tend to focus efforts on Android as it’s known as the weaker link."

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