LG Joins Samsung And Google In Committing To Monthly Security Updates For Android
Fragmentation is a real problem for Android. The irony is that having so much choice is one of the things that makes the Android platform so appealing. Rather than be limited to a single smartphone model from one manufacturer, users can choose from a wealth of options from different companies. Where that becomes an issue is with security, though things are starting to change.
Samsung announced earlier this week that it would start doling out monthly security updates to Galaxy device owners, and then Google followed suit by committing to do pretty much the same thing with its stable of Nexus gadgets. Now LG Electronics is jumping on board, and slowly but surely, the issue of fragmentation is starting to melt away, at least in this respect.
"LG will be providing security updates on a monthly basis which carriers will then be able to make available to customers immediately. We believe these important steps will demonstrate to LG customers that security is our highest priority," LG told Wired.
This sort of thing should have taken place a long time ago, but better late than never, right? It took a scary text messaging exploit to get the ball rolling. Called "Stagefright," the MMS exploit affected nearly all Android devices and could be triggered with a simple text message. Following a successful attack, full control of a compromised handset or tablet could be possible from a remote location. Even worse, in some cases there would be no trace that something nefarious was going on.
With Android being the most popular mobile platform on the planet, these sort of security threats are going to grow in number. Google's been criticized for not coming up with a policy or some other solution that would put security ahead of fragmentation, but if more manufacturers commit to monthly security patches, it could become a non-issue, or at least less of one than it is today.
Samsung announced earlier this week that it would start doling out monthly security updates to Galaxy device owners, and then Google followed suit by committing to do pretty much the same thing with its stable of Nexus gadgets. Now LG Electronics is jumping on board, and slowly but surely, the issue of fragmentation is starting to melt away, at least in this respect.
"LG will be providing security updates on a monthly basis which carriers will then be able to make available to customers immediately. We believe these important steps will demonstrate to LG customers that security is our highest priority," LG told Wired.
This sort of thing should have taken place a long time ago, but better late than never, right? It took a scary text messaging exploit to get the ball rolling. Called "Stagefright," the MMS exploit affected nearly all Android devices and could be triggered with a simple text message. Following a successful attack, full control of a compromised handset or tablet could be possible from a remote location. Even worse, in some cases there would be no trace that something nefarious was going on.
With Android being the most popular mobile platform on the planet, these sort of security threats are going to grow in number. Google's been criticized for not coming up with a policy or some other solution that would put security ahead of fragmentation, but if more manufacturers commit to monthly security patches, it could become a non-issue, or at least less of one than it is today.
