‘Quadrooter’ security flaws said to affect over 900 million Android devices

“Four newly-discovered vulnerabilities found in Android phones and tablets that ship with a Qualcomm chip could allow an attacker to take complete control of an affected device,” Zack Whittaker reports for ZDNet.

“The set of vulnerabilities, dubbed “Quadrooter,” affects over 900 million phone and tablets, according to Check Point researchers who discovered the flaws,” Whittaker reports. “If successfully exploited, an attacker can gain root access, which gives the attacker full access to an affected Android device, its data, and its hardware — including its camera and microphone.”

“Google’s own branded Nexus 5X, Nexus 6, and Nexus 6P devices are affected, as are Samsung’s Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge, to name just a few of the models in question,” Whittaker reports. “The recently-announced BlackBerry DTEK50, which the company touts as the ‘most secure Android smartphone,’ is also vulnerable to one of the flaws.”

Read more in the full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: “The most secure Android smartphone.” Gee, that’s about as comforting as “the cleanest hooker.”

Now to be fair, this is only because Android is an inferior product peddled to cheapskate tech illiterates who do not value their privacy and/or who are unable to recognize a half-assed knockoff from the revolutionary original. Android is a BlackBerry clone that was hastily rejiggered at the last minute to mimic iPhone in a panic by Google. Obviously, mistakes were made and corners were cut. Hence, t Android rush-job is a privacy and security nightmare. It’s a fragmented morass. It’s too many cooks in the kitchen. It’s crap-by-committee lowest-common-denominator junk.

If it’s not an iPhone, it’s not an iPhone.

And anyone who rewards blatant thieves by settling for Android garbage deserves their fate.

SEE ALSO:
Black Hat 2016: Apple’s iPhone destroys Android phones in security – August 4, 2016
Bad news for Fragmandroid: FCC and FTC launch inquiry over mobile security updates – May 10, 2016
Google’s flawed Android is essentially unfixable – May 2, 2016
Apple’s deep commitment to security – April 18, 2016
Apple: We have the ‘most effective security organization in the world’ – April 16, 2016
85% of mobile device failures occur on Android, with Samsung leading the way – February 23, 2016
More than 90% of Android devices are running out-dated, insecure operating system versions – January 27, 2016
Dangerous new zero-day flaw affects more than two-thirds of all Android devices – January 20, 2016
Android malware steals one-time passcodes, a crucial defense for online banking – January 14, 2016
New Android malware is so bad, you’d better off buying a new phone – November 6, 2015
Apple issues iPhone manifesto; blasts Android’s lack of updates, lack of privacy, rampant malware – August 10, 2015
New Android malware strains to top 2 million by end of 2015 – July 1, 2015
Symantec: 1 in 5 Android apps is malware – April 25, 2015
Kaspersky Lab Director: Over 98% of mobile malware targets Android because it’s much, much easier to exploit than iOS – January 15, 2015
Security experts: Malware spreading to millions on Android phones – November 21, 2014
There’s practically no iOS malware, thanks to Apple’s smart control over app distribution – June 13, 2014
F-Secure: Android accounted for 99% of new mobile malware in Q1 2014 – April 30, 2014
Google’s Sundar Pichai: Android not designed to be safe; if I wrote malware, I’d target Android, too – February 27, 2014
Cisco: Android the target of 99 percent of world’s mobile malware – January 17, 2014
U.S. DHS, FBI warn of malware threats to Android mobile devices – August 27, 2013

[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “MSchienle” for the heads up.]