PSA: Your Android Smartphone Maker Is Lying About Missed Security Updates

Even though Google has managed to establish Android as the top smartphone operating system in the world, it has failed on a major front that ensures the security of your smartphone. Here, I’m talking about regular updates and security patches. The latest Android version is currently running on about 1% of total devices, which is another downside.

As it turns out, the Android update problem runs much deeper than expected. As per a research from Security Research Labs, multiple major Android smartphone makers are lying to the users about the status of security patches, reports Wired.

This revelation is a startling one as it seems like a step to misguide users and fool them. In a practical scenario, when you find that your device’s firmware is fully updated, you get a false sense of security.

The researchers Karsten Nohl and Jakob Lell have been working for the past two years to reverse engineer that code running on Android devices and looking if there was some “patch gap.” On many occasions, it was found that the OEMs were hiding as many as a dozen missed patches.

Which smartphone maker skipped how many patches?

They looked into the smartphones from makers like Google, Samsung, Nokia, Sony, HTC, LG, Motorola, TCL, and ZTE. While the smartphones of Sony and Samsung were found to have missed few patches, ZTE and TCL lied about 4 or more updates.

LG, Motorola, Huawei, and HTC missed 3-4 patches, and Nokia, OnePlus, and Xiaomi skipped 1-3 patches on an average.

In a statement, Google thanked the researchers for their job. The company tried to do some damage control by listing its mechanisms like Google Play Protect which are being developed to ensure an extra security layer.

Also Read: Google And Amazon File Creepy Patents That Can Further “Sniff” Your Conversations