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Samsung To Push Monthly Over-the-Air Security Updates For Android

Posted by samzenpus on from the air-security dept.

wiredmikey writes: Smartphone maker Samsung said on Wednesday that it soon will implement a new Android security update process that fast tracks mobile security patches over the air when security vulnerabilities are uncovered. The South Korea-based maker of popular Android smartphones said that it recently fast tracked security updates to its Galaxy devices in response to the recent Android "Stagefright" vulnerabilities uncovered late last month by security firm Zimperium. News of the initiative is great for Android users. For years, wireless carriers and phone manufacturers have been accused of putting profits over protection and dragging their feet on regular operating system updates, making Android users vulnerable to malware and other attacks. Nexus is also joining the monthly OTA update club.

6 of 126 comments (clear)

  1. I'll believe it when I get the notification. by Sowelu · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Promises, promises, promises...

  2. But what about profits? by ausekilis · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I'm curious how they'll "encourage" users to upgrade to the latest shiny if the slightly tarnished shiny is still up-to-date...

    1. Re:But what about profits? by darkain · · Score: 3, Insightful

      It is as simple as this: "We push security updates more often than our competitors" - it isn't just about retaining market share, it is about acquiring it from competitors. This is a highly requested feature from users that handset makers and carriers have been fucking up for years. So if a company delivers on this, it could very well easily be the tipping point between otherwise seemingly similar devices on the market - especially in the enterprise/government sector.

  3. Re:updates, updates, ... by 0123456 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Has software ever "just worked"?

    Somewhat. My Sun workstation ran for years with no software updates. It had bugs, but nothing that required a new operating system or application software.

    The big difference was that it was behind a firewall and a 19.2k modem, so there wasn't much anyone could do to attack the--probably numerous--security holes.

  4. Hopefully, they'll be able to bypass the carriers by glsunder · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Samsung can make all of the updates they want, but if Verizon and other companies just sit on them, it won't do us much good.

  5. Re:updates, updates, ... by ledow · · Score: 4, Insightful

    And I bet even that firewall and modem had bugs that exposed more of an attack surface than you ever wanted it to.

    Systems don't "stop running" without updates. They stop being secure. And now that systems are all online, all the time, it's more important to be secure than almost anything else.