Android devices are in danger of being hacked by playing an audio file or a video.
The new virus called “Stagefright 2.0” was discovered by researchers at mobile security firm Zimperium, the virus is said to affect “almost every Android device” since version 1.0 in 2008. Zimperium said in a blog post: “The vulnerability lies in the processing of metadata within the files, so merely previewing the song or video would trigger the issue.”
The Android Security team have been notified and a security update will be released on Monday. People will receive the update at different times as each Android manufacturer will roll out the update once available.
Until then, to prevent the virus from spreading to your devices, avoid untrustworthy sources and stick to apps from reputable developers. Zimperium have also released an app to detect the previous version of Stagefright, and measures that can be taken to further avoid an attack.
For more on Android, visit What Mobile’s dedicated Android page.
