Android Smart Phone Vulnerabity

For you Smart Phone Users….
BE AWARE!

from bluebox’s blog
Uncovering Android Master Key That Makes 99% of Devices Vulnerable

The Bluebox Security research team – Bluebox Labs – recently discovered a vulnerability in Android’s security model that allows a hacker to modify APK code without breaking an application’s cryptographic signature, to turn any legitimate application into a malicious Trojan, completely unnoticed by the app store, the phone, or the end user. The implications are huge! This vulnerability, around at least since the release of Android 1.6 (codename: “Donut” ), could affect any Android phone released in the last 4 years1 – or nearly 900 million devices2– and depending on the type of application, a hacker can exploit the vulnerability for anything from data theft to creation of a mobile botnet.

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So you don’t believe that the sky is falling yesterday….

Additional Commentary from Security Blogger Peter Biddle

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But perhaps no. This Android bug could prove to be extraordinarily bad.
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I am not saying this automagically makes Android phones infinitely vulnerable to horrible deeds. It doesn’t. As of July 4th 2013 there are no known exploits in the wild that make use of this attack.