Samsung phones, which are the best selling phones since 2012, are susceptible to security breach according to mobile security specialist, Ryan Welton.
In a report in NowSecure, the SwiftKey keyboard pre-installed on Samsung phones are susceptible to hacks because it searches for language pack updates over unencrypted lines. Because of this, hackers can produce a bogus proxy server and immediately send malicious security updates as well as validating data to ensure the bad code to Samsung devices. In short, the SwiftKey keyboard provides a gateway for hackers to exploit the phone without the users' knowledge.
The security threat is more serious than it seems because a hacker can go through user level privileges and permit them to get hold of off private information of users including contact data, personal messages, bank logins, and other pertinent information that can be used against user.
NowSecure further announced the security flaw which most likely affects all Samsung Android devices, including the S3, S4, S5, and Galaxy Note 3 and 4.
According to Computerworld, the vulnerability issue of Samsung Galaxy phones had been raised last November 2014. Samsung has also claimed that a patch addressing the problem has also been delivered.
However, in a presentation at the Blackhat Security Summit in London, Welton showed that the flaw is still unpatched by testing a Samsung Galaxy S6 running on Verizon.
Meanwhile, a SwiftKey spokesperson claims that SwiftKey Keyboard apps available via Google Play or the Apple App Store are not affected by this vulnerability.
While NowSecure noted this claim, it explained that Samsung users cannot simply download a fresh version of SwiftKey from Google Play but would need a carrier upgrade for the security flaw to be effectively eliminated.
Still some Samsung users are tottering because SwiftKey keyboard can't be uninstalled.
To appease and calm down users, Samsung said that it is currently working on a fix in its Knox software that will prevent attacks on the SwiftKey vulnerability. The Knox updates security policies that can in turn nullify or cancel out malicious SwiftKey updates and other vulnerabilities. Moreover, the company is also closely working with SwiftKey to address the problem and other pertinent issues.
