Researchers Discover That Today’s Smartphones Are Not As Safe As You Thought They Were

The last few days have seen various researchers share their findings regarding how safe most of today's smartphones really are. Unfortunately for phone makers and phone owners, the answer is not that good. 

As a matter of fact, no less than three separate research groups have claimed that there are security vulnerabilities in mobile apps used in Apple and Samsung handsets. These flaws could allow hackers to enjoy unauthorized access to these devices, and even let them retrieve private data.

While some of these flaws are specific only to a number of smartphone models, a German research group has found out that there are security flaws that could affect every mobile device out there.

The research team who discovered this hailed from the Fraunhofer Institute for Secure Information Technology and the Darmstadt University of Technology based in Germany. They found that a number of mobile apps available for all phones are actually using inadequate security protocols that leave the phone owner's private information vulnerable. In their research, they determined that 56 million unsecured data sets that contained user personal data. As reported by Reuters, the findings of the German research team were replicated by a Colombian software developer.

The German research team's findings were not the only ones grabbing headlines in the last few days. NowSecure, a security firm, discovered that a flaw in the keyboard software that Samsung pre-installed in its Galaxy mobile devices could compromise the security of 600 million Samsung users. Unfortunately, the keyboard software can not be uninstalled, and replacing it with another does not solve the issue. Samsung has since stated that it will be deploying new software updates soon in order to address the problem.

Yet another research team, this time from the Indiana University, has found out that iOS mobile apps that come with malware can easily bypass Apple's security protocols and make its way to the App Store. 

Still, there are some that say that there is no need to overreact to these findings. Since their inception, mobile devices have always been subject to attacks from hackers and cyber-intruders. While it may be true that phones are indeed vulnerable, not all people will be attacked by these intruders. Well,except maybe for those who are deemed important, such as CEOs, celebrities, etc. Also, if users only store data that are not that sensitive, even if they do get hacked, there will only be minimal harm or damage done.