Android devices overwhelmingly vulnerable to hacks and cyberattacks, says study

A Google-funded study on device vulnerability to cyberattacks has incriminated some of Google’s own devices. It was discovered that Android units from different brands are easily exposed to at least one critical vulnerability.

According to the study's results, 87.7 percent of Android devices are at risk of being hacked. Since Android covers multiple manufacturers, security bug fixes have a tendency to pass through a lot of "hands" before they are officially rolled out as OTA (over the air) updates to device owners, according to Tech Times.

"This is because manufacturers have not provided regular security updates," said Alastair Beresford, one of the researchers from the University of Cambridge, according to Light Blue Touch Paper.

After this statistical information made its way to Google's office, the company immediately came up with a solution to make sure its Nexus line of devices is kept safe from harm. That said, the company has promised to send out security updates every month. This decision is believed to be the reason why the company's Nexus gadgets have been considered to be the most secure Android smartphones to date.

A test was implemented and Nexus units scored 5.2 on a scale of 1 to 10, which happens to be the highest rating obtained by any device from all of the brands that were part of the University of Cambridge's study.

"Google has done a good job at mitigating many of the risks," Beresford added. "We recommend users only install apps from Google's Play Store, since it performs additional safety checks on apps."

Beresford has noted that although Google has gone on ahead with its security fix, this isn’t enough to protect users and their devices.

"Devices require updates from manufacturers!" he added. "The majority of devices are not getting them."

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