One billion Android devices at risk of hacking

[mfcorey1]

More than a billion Android devices are at risk of being hacked because they are no longer protected by security updates, watchdog Which? has suggested.

The vulnerability could leave users around the world exposed to the danger of data theft, ransom demands and other malware attacks.

Anyone using an Android phone released in 2012 or earlier should be especially concerned, it said.

Which? says it was not reassured by Google's response.

And the tech giant has not responded to BBC requests for a comment.

Google's own data suggests that 42.1% of Android users worldwide are on version 6.0 of its operating system or below.

According to the Android security bulletin, there were no security patches issued for the Android system in 2019 for versions below 7.0.

Extrapolating this data, Which? concluded that two in five Android users worldwide were no longer receiving security updates.

It then tested five phones:

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-51751950

[edhopper]

1. "Do no harm"?

[getagrip_already]

2. This isn't googles fault - it's your carrier (ATT, Verizon, Etc)

They lock down your phone and you can't get any updates from google unless they release them, and they stop releasing them very early on to spur sales of new phones.

If you are slightly techie, you can jail break your phone and install any google os or update you want. It's all on google.

[defacto7]

3. Jail breaking is good if you know what you're doing.

Some phones are hardware locked to the company and can't be broken unless you do the code yourself which is a pain for a lot people. Others are not so difficult.

[getagrip_already]

4. I've jail broken "locked" phones....

It's not hard, but is complicated. If it was my only phone, I'd make sure I had no other choice before doing it.

I usually do it to my -1 gen phones. I have ATT and all my phones have been locked. All have been rooted (android). Then I just experiment with releases to find a stable one.

[IcyPeas]

5. Note: Which? is Britains Consumer Reports

the snippet above mentions Which?. might be confusing until you know it's a magazine similar to our Consumer Reports.

https://www.which.co.uk/

[Nature Man]

6. EVERYTHING is at risk for hacking ALL THE TIME

[Brainfodder]

7. That whole end of service is to get you to buy a newer one.

That's only operating system updates though.

I hope anti-malware / anti-virus utilities still work/update, so there isn't completely zero protection available for old systems?

Can always move it to offline use only, except when needed for emergencies and updates?