In 2015, Google began the practice of distributing monthly security updates Android to provide timely fixes for critical bugs and vulnerabilities and support users who have completely ceased to feel this support. The idea was good, but it took some manufacturers almost 5 years to build up to realize the importance of such updates, while others did not have enough. As a result, they failed to change the situation towards OS fragmentation and security for the better.
Security updates have been released for 5 years, but many manufacturers ignore them
The German company Security Research Labs, specializing in research in the field of cybersecurity, checked more than 10 thousand different assemblies Android, which included both the stock version of the OS and third-party shells. It has shown that most manufacturers regularly release security updates. However, some allow themselves to either skip the sequence, or release dummy patches that change the build number of the operating system, but do not contain the announced changes.
Security Updates Android
Many manufacturers still release dummy updates
In fact, the practice of releasing dummy updates was common a few years ago. Then many manufacturers pretended to release updates, although all critical vulnerabilities that needed to be fixed did not disappear anywhere. This is quite a scary practice, considering that Google provides vendors with the sources of upcoming patches a month in advance. That is, they have at least 30 days to prepare and optimize updates, but many simply ignore this responsibility.
Since 2018, the situation with security updates has undoubtedly improved greatly, experts concluded. To date, the stability of their output has improved twofold. It's just that manufacturers have changed their attitude towards this phenomenon and have become more responsible in the issue of patch optimization. The most responsible are Google, Xiaomi, Samsung, LG and Nokia. Oppo and HTC missed the most updates. True, it is not very clear on what basis the calculations were made, because Huawei, which releases one update every three months, was not included in the list of the worst, although it clearly should have been included there.
Why updates are not coming out Android
Mediocre support, which translates into irregular updates, leads to depreciation Android in the eyes of corporate users, concludes Carsten Nol, an expert at SRLabs. According to him, today more and more enterprises are trying to supply their employees iPhone. And those who do not do this officially, simply let their subordinates understand that using smartphones Apple is not only not shameful, but also safe, given that sometimes they have to exchange secret data that should not be outside.
Manufacturers are not interested in updating their devices for a long time, because they are not paid for it and there is no one to make them work.
This is not a joke. Even the management Huawei prefers to use the technique Apple, every now and then posting tweets from the company's official social media accounts with iPhone and thus making it look unfavorable. What can we talk about if the head Huawei Ren Zhenfei himself uses iPhone as his main device and honestly admits that he buys smartphones and tablets Apple for his loved ones. Naturally, his subordinates have no reason to buy branded devices, let alone support them.
Why is this approach dangerous? Yes, the fact that manufacturers, instead of fixing bugs and vulnerabilities in their devices, let their existence go by itself, not providing users with proper after-sales support. Many are accustomed to this and consider this approach to be something ordinary and even acceptable. However, it is precisely because of the problems with the distribution of updates that hackers and scammers hack users' devices, steal their data, or, even worse, simply extort money. So who wants to pay out of pocket for the constant risk?