Mediaserver bug gives hackers the possibility to blackmail smartphone users.
After notifying users of the Stagefright vulnerability, security company Chechmarx informs smartphone users that a mediaserver bug causes 95% Android phones to become unresponsive. According to the company, smartphones could be hacked into by ill-intentioned persons due to software vulnerabilities.
Android has been labeled as one of the most cost-effective operating programs on the market, but it is definitely not the safest when it comes to offering users the security they need. Hackers can easily gain access to the content of Android-based smartphones because its services have not been well-constructed.
The new bug targets Android’s media service through a malformed Matroska (MKV) video, which can be downloaded on various apps and websites. Once the video has been accessed, users can no longer receive phone calls or notification on their smartphones. Moreover, the interface turns completely unresponsive to all the commands that the user is making.
Users might ask themselves what hackers do during all this time when the phone is nearly dead. According to Checkmarx, hackers take advantage of this unresponsive state of the smartphone to blackmail users to give them money in order to restore their phones to their original condition.
Checkmarks claim many phone users have been through this situation and the number of attacks could increase in the following period, unless Google takes measures to strengthen Android’s protection. Unfortunately, the search giant did not respond to the security company’s requests; spokespersons have only stated that the recently identified vulnerabilities do not represent the main priority of the company.
Android users have been disappointed by Google’s response to the new software threats. They feel they are not sufficiently protected against hackers’ threats, particularly since many system bugs have been identified in the recent period.
Last week, it was the Stagefright vulnerability to draw everyone’s attention. According to tech developers, the bug could have entered the phone through a simple MMS message. Smartphone users don’t even have to open the message; its simple delivery is enough to infect the phone and render it unresponsive, security experts have stated.
Unlike the mediaserver vulnerability, the Stagefright bug gives hackers free access to the content of the smartphone. By using this vulnerability, hackers can steal information from Android-based phones without users being aware of it.
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