Privacy, Security & Virus Information

Google's Android Phones Come Under Attack

Computer hackers are never slow to follow the latest developments in cyber technology. After all, that is their business. Therefore it is not surprising to discover that one of the most recent and most talked about innovations in communication technology Google's Android mobile phone has reportedly come under attack. And from some interesting directions.

Industry security experts have reported that a piece of malware posing as a movie player has succeeded in infiltrating unprotected Androids within the last few weeks. The malware has been programmed to send text messages to premium-rate numbers recorded on the Android, and will begin to collecting charges on the user's account. Security experts have now ascertained that the attack is the first SMS powered virus attack on mobile phones that are running Google's Android operating system. While this current Android attack seems to be confined to user in Eastern Europe and particularly Russia, the threat to worldwide users is still relevant. To their credit, most Android users in the West are more conscious of the virus threats and are less inclined to download applications from sources that appear a little less reliable, and usually have a top level antivirus program in place.

Another possible threat that has been discovered by industry security experts purportedly lives in the internet browser that services Android versions 1.6 to 2.1. The virus has been designed to allow hackers to remotely access the user's internet history, History that will include such sensitive issues as cookies, usernames and passwords. Experts believe that code cane be injected either through a compromised website, or even more worrying, an unsecured Wi-Fi network.

Android is said to be working on a patch for previous versions, while latest version of Android, 2.2 Froyo, has been programmed to eradicate the problem.

Another region that might be susceptible to virus attacks in the Android is the touchscreen of all places Industry experts have discovered that the handsets that have been set up to identify user-defined patterns to unlock the screen can be easily hacked through something known as 'smudge attacks' Google set up their Android mobiles to incorporate a graphical 'password' pattern. After a period of inactivity, users are required to trace a pattern over a grid of nine dots using their finger.

Security experts have analysed that someone who photographs a touch screen immediately after it has been accessed will be able to break the code. While the discovery of this flaw is no more than a curiosity, it only goes to prove that nothing is totally hacker proof these days.

 

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