Smartphones are among the most popular gadgets that are being used in the market. Android handsets dominate the industry and companies such as Samsung, LG, Motorola and HTC manufacture devices running on Android operating system; however, a security firm suggests that Android-based Samsung and Nexus phones are safest.
Security firm Duo Labs cites security researcher Gal Beniamini, who suggests that about 60 percent of Android smartphones running on a Qualcomm processor are vulnerable to attacks. The security firm found that these devices did not install the monthly Android patch rolled in January this year.
The mobile devices that did not install the patch were left open to attack by hackers. However, the vulnerability was fixed in May's update. Duo Labs reports that smartphone owners who have not installed the May update are at high risk of attacks.
Duo Labs' report highlights that the security of Galaxy S6 handset increased from 0 percent in January this year to 75 percent in May. The security firm points out that about 75 percent of all Nexus devices were also patched by the May update.
Samsung Galaxy S5 also showed similar improvements in security going from 0.2 percent devices patched in January to 45 percent in May. A previous report highlighted that the Korean company has rolled out the June Android security update and Samsung smartphone owners can only hope that the company continues to roll out the security updates on a regular basis.
"As always, we find the only Android devices that we can recommend without major reservations are Nexus and, now, Samsung devices, provided they keep releasing those security updates quickly," says Duo Labs.
Rolling out monthly Android security updates to handsets is relatively new in the industry. In mid-2015, security experts found the Stagefright bug, which threatened more than 950 million devices running on Android operating system.
The bug allowed hackers to get access to mobile phones just by sending a simple MMS. Smartphone makers were able to fix the issue with updates, which minimized the threats.
Stagefright proved to be beneficial to Android customers as Google announced its plan to release monthly security updates to keep its smartphones up-to-date against the latest threats. Mobile phone makers such as HTC, Samsung and more announced that they will release monthly security updates to their devices to reduce threats.
Security experts suggest that even though a monthly security patch does not bring new features to the table, it is highly recommended to install such an update as soon as it is available.
Photo: Tsahi Levent-Levi | Flickr
