The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, has reportedly issued a high-severity warning for Android users in the country. This advisory has been directed at those using Android OS versions 12, 12L, 13, and 14, following the discovery of serious vulnerabilities in the operating system.
In today’s digital age, ensuring the security of your smartphone is crucial and one must not leave the Android device exposed and vulnerable to cyber-attacks.
Vulnerabilities in Android: A major security threat
CERT-In has identified multiple vulnerabilities in different components of the Android OS, including the Framework, System, Google Play system updates and more. These security flaws could enable the attackers to exploit personal data, gain elevated privileges or even launch Denial-of-Service (DoS) attacks, which cause significant device malfunctions.
Who is most at risk?
Android devices which are running on outdated versions or those without the latest security patches are at the highest risk. Cybercriminals could easily exploit the older versions, which further leads to unauthorized access to sensitive information or control over the system.
Vulnerabilities have further been detected as an external component supplied by tech providers like Arm, Qualcomm, Unisoc and others.
What makes these vulnerabilities dangerous?
The flaws could lead to escalation to the attackers who eventually gain administrative control over the Android device, or a DoS attack, disrupting the functionality of your phone. In an era where smartphones are used for sensitive tasks like online banking, confidential data access and location sharing, these risks are worth noting and must not be ignored to avoid future vulnerability.
How to avoid or safeguard the risk? Start by updating your device NOW
Google frequently rolls out several security patches to fix such kinds of vulnerabilities, but many users use them to delay the installation of the updates. Reasons further include the concern over data consumption, inconvenience and storage issues. However, neglecting these updates leaves your device exposed to cyber threats.
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