Being the most used operating system in the world also has its risks. Despite the fact that at the end of 2015 we witnessed the launch of new versions of Android that placed a special emphasis on security and guaranteeing the privacy of consumers, something highly demanded by them in recent years, 2016 has not started quite well for the green robot in this sense since, despite the fact that more and more tablets and smartphones are equipped with Android 6.0 Marshmallow, vulnerabilities are still frequent and expose millions of users to significant risks when using their terminals.
The attacks software is something very common that does not affect just one but all are victims. Many are easy to get around and in most cases, the difference is in the way that their developers have to solve them and in their intention to fix them. But, as operating systems evolve, so do malicious elements such as viruses or Trojans that can affect devices. So far in 2016 we have already witnessed several attacks whose main objective has been Android But what are they and how can they affect the models equipped with it? Here are the main vulnerabilities that have been detected against the Mountain View interface in these first two months of the year.
1.Stagefright
It made the big leap to Android at the end of 2015 and is still very popular with hackers, as it stands out for being highly effective and for having the ability to simultaneously affect hundreds of millions of devices. Broadly speaking, it is like a dart that is shot right into the center of the operating system. How does it work? All devices equipped with the green robot software have a folder named Stagefright that houses the multimedia content and makes its reproduction possible. By sending an MMS by hackers, the malware infiltrates the devices and gets steal personal information and content stored in the galleries. One of the factors that has given so much to talk about is the fact that until now, Android developers have not managed to provide a definitive solution to this attack that can affect all terminals with versions higher than 2.2.
2.CVE 2016-0728
Discovered less than a month ago, the danger of this malware is that it can make a root access. What is this? Although Android is open source software, there are a series of functions that come from the factory and that users cannot enter or modify and that serve to give stability to the operating system and therefore, to the devices. With this vulnerability, the hacker happens to be administrator and it can rewrite the basic codes that ensure normal execution of basic tasks. Although at first glance, it seems a serious element and although 2 out of 3 supports with Android can be exposed, the number of attacks has not been high.
3. Mediatech
It is a failure that is given by the processors developed by this firm. It can affect all terminals that have chips produced by the company that exclusively own Android 4.4 and consists of the appearance of a back door or backdoor cuts created by mistake by the designers of the processor and that gives permission to hackers to access the software and power rewrite it, as it happens with the case that we have commented previously. Although a large number of brands, especially from China, have been the victims of this error, with the update to later versions of Android the risk is eliminated. On the other hand, the number of terminals that have been affected by this vulnerability has been low.
4.CVE 2016-0801
Finally, we highlight this vulnerability that has been solved quickly by Google and that despite being one of the most important that has jumped to devices so far in 2016, it has had a very limited impact. Although it is based on the infection of devices through WiFi networks that attackers use to access users' personal information, and in the code rewriting basic Android devices, the hacker can only enter the terminals only if he is connected to the same network as the victims, something that is complicated.
As we have seen, Android is still exposed, like the rest of the currently existing software, to serious attacks, although in most cases, they are not too important. Developers are rushing to harden software to avoid further attack. After knowing the most damaging elements for our devices that have stood out the most so far this year, do you think that these are vulnerabilities that have no negative impact on the terminals and that can be easily solved, or on the contrary, do you think that With them, the creators of Android reveal that it is an operating system that still has a lot to solve in terms of security and privacy? You have more related information available, such as the greatest risks to which we are exposed to using our terminals and how to minimize them when it comes to handling media that have become fundamental tools in our day-to-day life.