Smartphonesvulnerable
Dec 5, 2011
1/1312 most vulnerable smartphones: Report
--TOI Tech
There are several studies on how vulnerable our smartphones have become to malware and virus attacks. Ever wondered which are the most vulnerable of the lot?
A recent study by US-based security firm Bit9, titled 'The Most Vulnerable Smartphones of 2011', lists the devices that pose the most serious security and privacy risk to users. Interestingly, all 12 smartphones are based on Google Android platform. However, this does not mean that Android OS is more vulnerable than other mobile OSes according to Bit9. Writes, Harry Sverdlove of Bit9, writes in his blogpost, "All software have vulnerabilities. The Android code is no more vulnerable than Apple iOS or any other operating system. The issue is what happens when a flaw is discovered. The quicker a software update can be distributed, the more secure you are. The longer a device remains outdated with known vulnerabilities, the greater the risk."
He adds that in case of Android, most phones come to market at least one major version behind the latest Android release, and they stay around six months behind the update curve moving forward.... Many times, updates are not pushed over-the-air (OTA). Users are required to go to support websites, download and unzip packages, manually backup their data, and wade through painful processes to get the latest updates. When OTA updates are released, they are staggered across geographies and phone carriers and can take months before reaching all affected models.
So, here's over to Bit9's Most Vulnerable Smartphones of 2011.
There are several studies on how vulnerable our smartphones have become to malware and virus attacks. Ever wondered which are the most vulnerable of the lot?
A recent study by US-based security firm Bit9, titled 'The Most Vulnerable Smartphones of 2011', lists the devices that pose the most serious security and privacy risk to users. Interestingly, all 12 smartphones are based on Google Android platform. However, this does not mean that Android OS is more vulnerable than other mobile OSes according to Bit9. Writes, Harry Sverdlove of Bit9, writes in his blogpost, "All software have vulnerabilities. The Android code is no more vulnerable than Apple iOS or any other operating system. The issue is what happens when a flaw is discovered. The quicker a software update can be distributed, the more secure you are. The longer a device remains outdated with known vulnerabilities, the greater the risk."
He adds that in case of Android, most phones come to market at least one major version behind the latest Android release, and they stay around six months behind the update curve moving forward.... Many times, updates are not pushed over-the-air (OTA). Users are required to go to support websites, download and unzip packages, manually backup their data, and wade through painful processes to get the latest updates. When OTA updates are released, they are staggered across geographies and phone carriers and can take months before reaching all affected models.
So, here's over to Bit9's Most Vulnerable Smartphones of 2011.
2/13Samsung Galaxy Mini
Vulnerability score: 9
Initial version: Android 2.2
Current version: Android 2.2
Avg lag (in days): 316
Specs: Sporting a 3.14-inch touchscreen display, Galaxy Mini packs a 3.15 megapixel camera, 2GB memory card and 600 MHz ARMv6 processor. Connectivity features include Bluetooth v2.1 with A2DP, 3G, Wi-Fi and microUSB v2.0.
Initial version: Android 2.2
Current version: Android 2.2
Avg lag (in days): 316
Specs: Sporting a 3.14-inch touchscreen display, Galaxy Mini packs a 3.15 megapixel camera, 2GB memory card and 600 MHz ARMv6 processor. Connectivity features include Bluetooth v2.1 with A2DP, 3G, Wi-Fi and microUSB v2.0.
3/13HTC Desire
Vulnerability score: 8
Initial version: Android 2.1
Current version: Android 2.2
Avg lag (in days): 232.50
Specs: With 3.7 inches touchscreen display, HTC Desire has a 5 megapixel camera with autofocus, LED flash and Geo-tagging. The phone is powered by Qualcomm QSD8250 Snapdragon 1 GHz Scorpion processor.
Initial version: Android 2.1
Current version: Android 2.2
Avg lag (in days): 232.50
Specs: With 3.7 inches touchscreen display, HTC Desire has a 5 megapixel camera with autofocus, LED flash and Geo-tagging. The phone is powered by Qualcomm QSD8250 Snapdragon 1 GHz Scorpion processor.
4/13Sony Ericsson Xperia X10
Vulnerability score: 6
Initial version: Android 1.6
Current version: Android 2.3.2
Avg lag (in days): 262.33
Specs: Featuring a 4-inches TFT capacitive touchscreen, the phone has a 8 megapixel camera with autofocus and LED flash. Running on Qualcomm QSD8250 Snapdragon 1 GHz Scorpion processor, the phone comes with 1GB internal storage and 384MB RAM.
Initial version: Android 1.6
Current version: Android 2.3.2
Avg lag (in days): 262.33
Specs: Featuring a 4-inches TFT capacitive touchscreen, the phone has a 8 megapixel camera with autofocus and LED flash. Running on Qualcomm QSD8250 Snapdragon 1 GHz Scorpion processor, the phone comes with 1GB internal storage and 384MB RAM.
5/13Sanyo Zio
Vulnerability score: 8
Initial version: Android 2.1
Current version: Android 2.2
Avg lag (in days): 304
Specs: Sporting a 3.5-inches capacitive display, Zio has a 3.2 megapixel camera sans flash. Connectivity features include Wi-Fi, GPS and Bluetooth 2.0.
Initial version: Android 2.1
Current version: Android 2.2
Avg lag (in days): 304
Specs: Sporting a 3.5-inches capacitive display, Zio has a 3.2 megapixel camera sans flash. Connectivity features include Wi-Fi, GPS and Bluetooth 2.0.
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