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How smartphone users can keep one step ahead of the hackers

The discovery of new weaknesses in Android devices was announced at a recent hackers’ convention, and although these were addressed quickly, the problem is only going to get bigger. Apple users had a shock this week too

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Passengers using their smartphones on the MTR. Hong Kong experiences far more than the average number of cyberattacks. Photo: AFP

At this month’s DEF CON 24 annual hacker convention in Las Vegas, security vendor Check Point – whose job is not only to fix vulnerabilities, but discover them before criminals do – revealed details of what it called QuadRooter, a set of four vulnerabilities, affecting no fewer than 900 million Android smartphones.

Check Point found that by using a malicious app hackers could potentially gain access to the Qualcomm chipsets inside best-selling Android phones including the BlackBerry Priv, Samsung S7 and Sony Xperia Z Ultra, among many others. Three of the vulnerabilities were fixed by a recent Android update, and security patches for the fourth are gradually being rolled out.

As one of the most targeted cities in the world for cyberattacks, it’s understandable that Hong Kong is particularly concerned about malware – malicious software actively designed by hackers to cause harm or manipulate users of the mobile devices it infects.

With smartphones, it is not easy for users to immediately detect a hijack. “It’s actually a lot harder than you might think,” says Bryce Boland, chief technology officer for Asia Pacific at Singapore-based FireEye , which provides real-time threat protection to governments and businesses – including high-profile organisations in Hong Kong – against the next generation of cyberattacks. (The company is hosting a security summit in Hong Kong on September 1, on ransomware and mobile threat prevention.)

Keeping your smartphone safe from malevolent software and rogue apps requires constant vigilance.
Keeping your smartphone safe from malevolent software and rogue apps requires constant vigilance.
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