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Samsung Smartphones Vulnerable To Remote Wipe Hack
DavidGilbert99 writes "Security researchers have discovered a single line of code embedded in websites which could wipe all data from your Samsung Galaxy S3 and other smartphones. Samsung smartphones including the Galaxy S3, Galaxy S2, Galaxy Ace, Galaxy Beam and Galaxy S Advance all appear to be affected by the bug which triggers a factory reset on your phone if your web browser is pointed to a particular website. Smartphones can also be directed to the code through NFC or using a QR code. Once the process has been initiated, users are have no way of stopping it. The hack was unveiled at the Ekoparty 2012 security conference in Argentina by Ravi Borgaonkar, a security researcher at the Security in Communications department at Technical University Berlin. ... Only Samsung smartphones running the company's proprietary TouchWiz user interface appear to be affected. According to telecoms engineer Pau Oliva, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus is not affected, as it runs on stock Android and doesn't use the TouchWiz skin on top." Hit the link above for a video demonstration.
Just initiate a faster local wipe before the remote wipe finishes.
An strong, nearby EMP should do the trick. If that doesn't work, a nuclear explosion close enough to vaporize the phone will.
Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
You'd have thought Samsung would learn their lesson already. Don't they know that Apple patented remote data wipe technology years ago?
=Smidge=
You're more likely to drop the phone in the toilet then getting hacked.
I doubt you'll get hacked after having dropped it in the toilet, and if you do you have some rather unfortunate luck.
Because "quite nice" is not exactly what you want your smart phone to be. Try "amazing" like iPhone.
Amazing? You have an iPhone..... don't your type usually say "FABULOUS!"
Everyone who uses a computer with a network interface uses a MAC.
Huh. That's one strange definition of "amazing" you've got there. I'd look up where you found that definition, but the last time I asked my iOS6 phone to look up the location of something, I wound up in southern Brazil when I was trying to get across New York City.
That is amazing!
To each their own. Enjoy those maps!
LegendMUD