Millions of Android Devices Vulnerable to Network Scan Attack
Researchers have recently discovered hundreds of vulnerable apps on Google Play Store which are allowing hackers to inject them with malicious code which, upon downloading, steal all data from an infected Android device. The problem, according to the researchers [PDF] is that some of the apps are creating open ports on smartphones, which is not a new problem since the same issue was faced by computers but it is something new when it comes to smartphone technology. A team from the University of Michigan has tried to use a custom tool for scanning more than 24,000 applications, and 410 of them were found to be flawed. At least one of those apps has been downloaded so many times that there are potentially millions of Android devices which are vulnerable. Researchers also stated: – “These newly discovered exploits can lead to a large number of severe security and privacy breaches. For example, remotely stealing sensitive data such as contacts, photos, and even security credentials and perf...