Welcome Reader. Android users have been advised to know the kind of image files that they do open on their Android phones. The was announced after the discovery of harmless-looking image files that have been known to habour malicious codes that could grant hackers remote access into an Android smartphone system.
In Google's Android Security Update for February 2019, Google has listed three critical security vulnerabilities in the ways an Android operating system handles .PNG (Portable Network Graphic) files.
According to the news, a maliciously-crafted PNG image file could execute code on vulnerable Android devices thereby hacking into the smartphone and granting access to a remote attacker.
The newly-discovered flaws affect millions of devices running versions of the Android operating system from Android 7.0 Nougat to the latest Android 9.0 Pie versions and an attack could be activated by tricking a user into viewing a boobytrapped PNG image sent via email or any messaging app.
This isn’t actually the first time an Android operating system has been found sorely lacking when it comes to handling boobytrapped files. In the 2015, the Stagefright bug made worldwide headlines after it was disclosed that hackers could simply send a maliciously-crafted multimedia message to an Android phone, and gain access to its data and even its camera.
More detailed information on the latest PNG-related flaws will be posted on this very site (NaijTecho) in the days to come, but my advice to Android phone users is that don’t delay to patch up your Android phone as soon as a security update is available for your device.
But the big question is this? “What if a security update is not available.”
Whether you will receive a security update for your Android smartphone rests in the hands of your device manufacturers, and their keenness to roll out security patches.
Users of smartphones manufactured by the likes of Google, LG, or Samsung more likely to get an update within a short period of time than if you purchased a device from a less-popular manufacturer.
If you haven’t received an update yet from your manufacturer/carrier then it’s time to start the looking elsewhere.
In Google's Android Security Update for February 2019, Google has listed three critical security vulnerabilities in the ways an Android operating system handles .PNG (Portable Network Graphic) files.
According to the news, a maliciously-crafted PNG image file could execute code on vulnerable Android devices thereby hacking into the smartphone and granting access to a remote attacker.
The newly-discovered flaws affect millions of devices running versions of the Android operating system from Android 7.0 Nougat to the latest Android 9.0 Pie versions and an attack could be activated by tricking a user into viewing a boobytrapped PNG image sent via email or any messaging app.
This isn’t actually the first time an Android operating system has been found sorely lacking when it comes to handling boobytrapped files. In the 2015, the Stagefright bug made worldwide headlines after it was disclosed that hackers could simply send a maliciously-crafted multimedia message to an Android phone, and gain access to its data and even its camera.
More detailed information on the latest PNG-related flaws will be posted on this very site (NaijTecho) in the days to come, but my advice to Android phone users is that don’t delay to patch up your Android phone as soon as a security update is available for your device.
But the big question is this? “What if a security update is not available.”
Whether you will receive a security update for your Android smartphone rests in the hands of your device manufacturers, and their keenness to roll out security patches.
Users of smartphones manufactured by the likes of Google, LG, or Samsung more likely to get an update within a short period of time than if you purchased a device from a less-popular manufacturer.
If you haven’t received an update yet from your manufacturer/carrier then it’s time to start the looking elsewhere.
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