Android is as safe as its competition: Google

Earlier in 2015, it was established that Google’s operating system for smartphones, i.e., Android is vulnerable to a bug called StageFright. Through this vulnerability, hackers had the power to exploit the system by sending a simple text message. Later in 2016, security researchers discovered another malicious software called hummingbird, which ended up affecting millions of Android smartphones.

Last year, documents showcased by Wikileaks revealed that the CIA had developed a malicious software for Android smartphones. As you can see, Google’s Android system represents a repetitive behaviour of being diagnosed with bugs. It seems behaviour search giant has finally decided to break their silence on the matter.

Google’s head of security for Android, David Kleidermacher stated that Google Play and the Chrome operating system since May is being worked upon to straighten out these bugs. He also announced that Android is now as safe as its competition. This claim is believed to be a big one, considering that Android’s main competitor is Apple’s iPhone. “Android security made a significant leap forward in 2017, and many of our protections now lead the industry,” one of the reports read. Echoing the sentiments in the story,

Kleidermacher told CNET that Android flaws have become harder for researchers to find and that the software now protects users from malicious software so well. The protection is so reliable that the problems that used to leave users exposed to bad actors aren’t such a big problem anymore.

“As a global, open-source project, Android has a community of defenders collaboratively locating the deeper vulnerabilities and developing mitigations,” the report says. “This community may be orders of magnitude larger and more effective than a closed-source project of a similar scale.” This news comes across as highly pleasant especially before the launch of various newer smartphones on the market this year.