The first update, released on Wednesday, will include a patch for a severe vulnerability called Stagefright, he said.
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Samsung has also fast-tracked updates for its Galaxy device line to fix Stagefright. It features “fixes for issues in bulletins provided to partners through July 2015”, including the Stagefright exploit that set alarm bells off last week. It released patch for most current Nexus devices that fixes the Stagefright vulnerability. It’s also made some changes to its Nexus device update cycle in an effort to re-instill some confidence in the Android platform.
These are only two purveyors of Android devices, but they’re the most important ones.
According to Google, about 18 per cent of Android devices on the market run version 5.0 and up (Lollipop) of the OS.
The first Google update will fix the recently discovered libStageFright issue, for example – the security issue that allowed for remote code execution through a simple text message.
These upcoming security updates will be issued over the air “about once per month”, but there’s no word as to when this new system will go into effect.
Let’s start with Google, the developer of Android and the company in charge of software updates for the Nexus line.
It’s the simplicity of Stagefright’s attack that has caused Google and Samsung to spring into an action that should have been taken long ago. Google is delivering the security update to the Nexus 4, Nexus 5, and Nexus 6 smartphones, the Nexus 7, Nexus 9, and Nexus 10 tablets, and the Nexus Player media device.
The most recent effort, the one that brings us here, is a twirl in the direction of Nexus devices, pieces of hardware that already take a close to pole position in the Android security food chain. The fact it’s the carrier rolling out the updates instead of Samsung releasing them directly is a cause for concern, however.
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“We believe that this new process will vastly improve the security of our devices and will aim to provide the best mobile experience possible for our users“, said Koh.
