Android subject to security breach
Research has revealed that almost all Android phones are susceptible to potentially harmful data leakage. German security researchers from the University of Ulm found that authentication tokens used by certain Google apps could be exploited when being used over a WiFi network. Put simply, the tokens are in place to make apps more convenient as they eliminate the need to login every time you open them up.
“The implications of this vulnerability reach from disclosure to loss of personal information for the Calendar data. For Contact information, private information of others is also affected, potentially including phone numbers, home addresses, and email addresses. Beyond the mere stealing of such information, an adversary could perform subtle changes without the user noticing,” the researchers commented in a blog.
They continued, “For example, an adversary could change the stored email address of the victim’s boss or business partners hoping to receive sensitive or confidential material pertaining to their business.”
The tokens are a problem on almost all versions of Android except v2.3.4 that is only being run on 0.3% of phones. An update has been released that combats the problems and users are encouraged to download it as soon as they can.
Security breaches will always set alarm bells ringing amongst users who are regular users of mobile gaming sites. This alert sounds more like it has to do with just Google apps and won’t affect any apps gaming sites have launched. Although, no mention was made as to whether it will affect Android’s Internet browser. That is something that might concern the gaming industry.
Google isn’t the first company to have confidentiality problems in recent months after Apple’s much documented storing of customer’s locations.
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