Perhaps the most controversial feature Android is their updates. Not malware, which turns out to be quite easy to resist, but irregular updates of the operating system. Even updates to applications and services, which are released quite often, cannot compensate for their absence, because they in no way eliminate system vulnerabilities that contribute to hacking and managing an infected device over a remote connection. We figure out why this is exactly what happens and whether it is possible to deal with it.
Updates Android are needed, but clearly not in the form in which they exist now
Smartphones that have stopped receiving system updates are more likely to be compromised than others, explained Brian Higgings, security expert at Comaritech. The fact is that the file system, security tools, and even the operating system kernel itself require constant improvement. If this is neglected, the system will gradually degrade, be filled with new vulnerabilities that will reveal themselves due to the emergence of new use cases, and, in fact, become an excellent platform for extracting confidential data from the user of such a device.
Which smartphones are easier to hack
Updates Android are farce and an attempt to mimic real support
Practice shows that hackers and other attackers usually focus on devices that no longer receive updates. That is why most of all viruses and exploits appear for Android previous generations. The thing is that hackers – even advanced ones – simply have no way to bypass the security systems of the latest OS versions. Of course, this does not mean that they will not appear in the future, rather, on the contrary, however, as long as the device receives updates with fixes for bugs and vulnerabilities, it will be more difficult to crack them.
'Hackers can use a variety of hacking tactics to connect to their victim's device and extract the data they want from their memory. They can send him a malicious component via WhatsApp or SMS, convincing the user to unpack the file himself and actually launch a malicious attack on his device on his own. It is quite simple to implement on older OS versions and much more difficult on newer ones, because by default they contain a special mechanism for suppressing the launch of malware, 'the expert explained.
Why updates are needed
It would seem that Higgins' explanations should have convinced me to change my position that system updates are absolutely useless Android. However, here it is important to separate the theoretical benefits of updates, which the expert spoke about, and the actual ones. After all, what is happening now can hardly be called a full-fledged update program Android. Despite the fact that Google releases monthly security patches for compatible devices, it probably has them in store for 100 years to come. Of course, I'm exaggerating, but practice shows that Google does not purposefully eliminate all existing vulnerabilities at once, but prefers to release updates with fixes gradually.
What prevents Google from releasing updates specifically for discovered vulnerabilities right away, and not waiting, don't get it, for several months? Well, this question is pretty easy to answer. Google, like any other company, is primarily focused on profit, and developing and optimizing security updates does not bring money, although it costs it quite expensive. Therefore, it is not surprising that the search giant only imitates software support for smartphones on Android, simply because it is so customary and it has no moral right to ignore the accepted norms.