Security flaw makes 99% of Android devices vulnerable, should you be worried?

If the title is correct than nearly 900 million Android devices are vulnerable to hackers who are looking to read your data, grab your passwords, or even control certain aspects of your phone. We have heard these kinds of things before and these articles seem to create more buzz about the “issue” rather than reporting about actual real life examples. Apparently this vulnerability is due to “discrepancies” on how Android apps are approved and verified. All a developer needs to do is create a trojan application and they will have access to the things I mentioned. This is according to Jeff Forristal, CTO of Bluebox, a startup mobile security company.

Could this be just a young company looking to make some press? Well I don't doubt there is an issue here, one thing we do know is that Google is aware of the problem. There were told about it back February, but when Venture Beat asked about the situation, they didn't comment. Of course that doesn't mean that Google is ignoring it. I am sure they are doing everything they can to ensure apps with trojans such as these don't make it to the Play Store, however they can't control other third party app stores. There is also the issue with the manufacturers and trying to get the latest updates on all phones, which we know isn't going to happen anytime soon.

Again, I think this is a real vulnerability, but nobody has given us an example just yet. My feeling is there has been tons of security issues over the years that haven't even been reported because companies like Google are working around the clock to protect its customers. I am not saying not to worry, but if you are using the Play Store for all your apps, chances are you are safe. The bottomline is that you should be cautious, but there is no need to panic. If you use a third party app site or third party APK's, there is always a risk for getting infected with something regarding this or some other hack, so be careful.

source: VentureBeat