Updates Android are a very slippery topic, which, in the minds of many, only an expert can allow. I, unfortunately, am not, but I am always glad to go through the updates of the 'green robot' and do not miss a moment to do it. After all, if a smartphone does not receive fresh updates, it means that it cannot maintain its former relevance and, even if it is not denied access to software and is not restricted in some other way, it starts to become outdated. This, in turn, entails at least two negative consequences. The first is the user's feeling of owning an old device, and the second is the danger that he exposes himself if he does not refuse such a device of his own free will.
If you have an old smartphone, it is better not to trust it with important data, because it can be hacked
Christoph Hebeisen, director of research firm Lookout, believes that using a device that does not receive updates can be really dangerous. The fact is, he explained, that in the absence of software support, which involves fixing bugs and vulnerabilities, over time they accumulate so many that hackers will surely find something to use in order to violate the security of the device and either interfere with its work or get hold of it. full or partial control.
Why security updates are needed
Of course, it's always best to use a smartphone whose support has not yet expired.
We do not consider it safe to use a smartphone that does not receive regular security updates. New critical vulnerabilities become known every few weeks or months, and they are subject to mandatory fixes in the monthly security patches released by Google. Therefore, users of devices that are not updated on an ongoing basis and become vulnerable to hacker attacks expose themselves to an unreasonable risk of being hacked or unauthorized to take control of the device, Hebeisen explained.
Paul Ducklin, a senior fellow at Sophos, a computer security research firm, agrees with Hebeisen. He is sure that if there is some kind of vulnerability in a smartphone, one should be prepared for the fact that hackers probably already know about it and develop a special set of software for it, which will be able to hack in automatic or semi-automatic mode. Moreover, users can remain unaware that they have been hacked for months or even years, unaware of extraneous actions on their smartphone.
Can you hack Android
To some, the words of the experts may seem populist. After all, real hacks don't happen that often. However, in order to violate the security of a smartphone, active actions are not always necessary – passive ones will be enough. There are many known cases when cybercriminals arranged a mass mailing of modified images or videos containing malicious code. As a result, the user only had to view the message to provoke a buffer overflow and open a backdoor through which any data could be stolen.
Use only updated smartphones
It is important to understand that now, when smartphones store colossal amounts of user information, their protection should be a priority for everyone. Email, personal photos, bank accounts, scheduled appointments, web browser history, social media and messenger accounts. Yes, having access to at least some of them, you can heap up such cases, which a hacked user will probably have to rake for a very, very long time. After all, our banks, unfortunately, do not cancel erroneously made money transfers instantly, demanding proof that you have been hacked, and spending weeks or even months on investigations.
In this sense, I really appreciate the approach Apple, which continues to update its devices by default for 4-5 years, and then, if required, silently resumes support and releases updates until critical vulnerabilities are found completely eliminated. The company confirmed its readiness to update even officially outdated devices last year, when, unexpectedly for everyone, it suddenly started releasing security updates for iPhone 5s and iPhone 6. As a result, only 5 patches have been released so far , and something tells me that this will not end there.