Your,Android,Smartphone,May,Le computer Your Android Smartphone May Be Leaking Personal Data
----------------------------------------------------------Permission is granted for the below article to forward,reprint, distribute, use for ezine, newsletter, website,offer as free bonus or part of a product for sale as longas no changes a Gone are those times when the companies and the organisations didn't need a hi-tech system to handle them. Owing to the considerable increase in the business sector and thus, an enormous increase in the complexity of the organisational struc
Smart phones had changed the way wecommunicate, get information, and entertain ourselves. With smart-phonesincreasingly becoming low-priced and within the range of the average person,therefore, it is no surprise about the source of their widespread successaround the globe is their low- price and computing capabilities. With ApplesiPhone a bit on the pricey side, Googles Android based Smart-phones are thechoice of smart-phones loving frugal folks.Moreover, with multiple manufacturers ofAndroid based smart-phones such as HTC, Samsung, Sony, Huawei, Motorola and LG,the choices of Android based smart-phones are endless. Consequently, suchvariety and affordability has propelled Googles android based operating systemas the iPhones impossible-to-knock-out adversary. Therefore, its a given factthat Android operating systems for smart-phones are the entire buzz these days.Yet, recently, Android has once againmade negative headlines, this time on the subject of personal data. Securityresearchers at Leibniz University in Hanover, Germany found that some perfectlylegitimate android applications available for download on Google Play mayleak your data to hackers. Even so, the team didnt come across any reportedincidents that reported any hackers have taken advantage of this loop-hole.To be more specific on howconfidential data can be leaked with these applications, researchers have foundthat almost all android applications used SSL and TLS security protocols totransmit your private data. Shockingly,what the research found was that these security protocols werent designedproperly in these apps they were faulty. Therefore, if you have recentlydownloaded apps from Google Play, chances are your username, passwords, creditcard number and addresses could be leaked. To test our data leakvulnerabilities, a tool known as MalloDriod was used, which can detectMan-in-the-middle attacks.What researchers determined was that8% of the applications were defenseless against MITM attacks. The way it works,is that a third-party - hacker, connects between two devices, seemingly actingas a communication device using advanced hacking application. Researchersdetermined that any application that sends out a certificate is open to attack.What shocked researchers the most, was that 41 out of 100 applicationscontained this security loophole.Its estimated that anywhere from 40to 185 million users may have downloaded such apps. Researchers say that bettersecurity measures and regulations installed within Android operating system isthe key to keeping data safe. The majority of the applications available on thePlay store are not mandated to have strict security protocols, implementingfoolproof security measures in Android compatible applications should be theresponsibility of the developer of that specific application. Its up to Googleto enforce compliance to protect its users identity.On a different note, smart phones arenot the only culprit that can leak personal data. The widespread use ofportable-data-storage-devices such as thumb drives and portable hard-drives canalso contribute to data theft. If you end up losing one of these devices, andby mistake you happen to have your intimate data stored on them, such ase-statements, tax return or copies of private identification, then therespotential for some trouble. Experts recommend that when transporting sensitivedata on transportable drives, its highly recommended that you secure USB movable drives and hard-drives with portable datasecurity software. Identity theft is hot business for criminals, as it isconsidered an easy way to steal information without ever getting caught. Whatsreally worrisome is that, by the time you come to know that your data has beenstolen, it may be too late. Its likely that the criminals may have alreadycharged up your account, and you may only find out about this charge once youreceive your credit card bill.
Your,Android,Smartphone,May,Le