Study into the Implications of Smartphone Operating System Security
Study into the Implications of Smartphone Operating System Security
Study into the Implications of Smartphone Operating System Security
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<strong>Study</strong> <strong>into</strong> <strong>the</strong> implications <strong>of</strong> <strong>Smartphone</strong> operating system security<br />
These include Google Glass 5 , a wearable computer with a head-mounted display (HMD) that<br />
is planned to be launched in 2013/2014, and <strong>the</strong>re are predictions that Apple will launch its<br />
own wearable device, a smart watch or iWatch, as early as 2013.<br />
<strong>Security</strong> Threats<br />
A combination <strong>of</strong> increasing <strong>Smartphone</strong> ownership and <strong>the</strong> use <strong>of</strong> more valuable data<br />
services on <strong>the</strong>se devices has led to <strong>Smartphone</strong>s becoming a more attractive target for<br />
fraudulent and illegal actions.<br />
All forms <strong>of</strong> computing technology can be vulnerable to security threats and <strong>Smartphone</strong>s<br />
are no exception. In <strong>the</strong> main, <strong>Smartphone</strong>s employ adequate security measures to ensure<br />
that consumers are protected against some <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> more common security threats such as<br />
financial fraud and unauthorised access to personal information.<br />
Vulnerabilities exist on every <strong>Smartphone</strong> <strong>Operating</strong> <strong>System</strong> examined in this study. A<br />
vulnerability becomes a problem when it can be exploited. Malware is an example <strong>of</strong> how a<br />
vulnerability is exploited, creating code that exploits weaknesses and bugs, in <strong>the</strong> <strong>Operating</strong><br />
<strong>System</strong> for malicious purposes – to extract personal information or to enact financial fraud<br />
on <strong>the</strong> <strong>Smartphone</strong> owner. If <strong>the</strong> vulnerability is not remediated, fixed or patched, in a timely<br />
fashion <strong>the</strong>n <strong>the</strong>se exploits will continue and <strong>Smartphone</strong> owners will be exposed to security<br />
threats.<br />
This is why it is imperative to have a robust and efficient <strong>Smartphone</strong> <strong>Operating</strong> <strong>System</strong><br />
s<strong>of</strong>tware update process that discovers vulnerabilities before <strong>the</strong> bad guys do, fixes <strong>the</strong>m<br />
and <strong>the</strong>n pushes <strong>the</strong> resultant s<strong>of</strong>tware update to all affected <strong>Smartphone</strong> owners before <strong>the</strong><br />
vulnerability can be widely exploited. This is <strong>the</strong> first independent study that investigates<br />
both <strong>the</strong> <strong>Smartphone</strong> <strong>Operating</strong> <strong>System</strong> update process and vulnerability management in<br />
detail.<br />
In <strong>the</strong> main, <strong>Smartphone</strong> <strong>Operating</strong> <strong>System</strong> vendors are doing a decent job <strong>of</strong> handling<br />
s<strong>of</strong>tware updates and vulnerability management. Figure ES2 details <strong>the</strong> basic <strong>Smartphone</strong><br />
<strong>Operating</strong> <strong>System</strong> update process. There are however, exceptions. The fragmentation<br />
issues surrounding Google’s Android OS are not helping this process with <strong>the</strong> effect <strong>of</strong> many<br />
millions <strong>of</strong> Android <strong>Smartphone</strong> owners being potentially exposed to exploitable<br />
vulnerabilities.<br />
5 Google’s Glass website http://www.google.com/glass/start/<br />
Goode Intelligence © 2013 P a g e | 8 www.goodeintelligence.com
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