Smartphone users are being warned after a number of popular models appear to have been hit by a number of serious security flaws that could allow hackers to attack devices remotely. The models at risk include Samsung and Google devices.
The worrying flaw has been discovered by Google's security team at Project Zero and it's not a threat that should be ignored. Cybercriminals only need the victim's mobile number to compromise the phone without the user knowing anything is wrong.
As Project Zero's Tim Willis explains: "Tests conducted by Project Zero confirm that those four vulnerabilities allow an attacker to remotely compromise a phone at the baseband level with no user interaction, and require only that the attacker knows the victim's phone number. With limited additional research and development, we believe that skilled attackers would be able to quickly create an operational exploit to compromise affected devices silently and remotely."
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Samsung has been made aware of the bug and is working on a fix as it takes customer safety seriously. However, until that is pushed out to devices there is a way to stop an attack in its tracks, reports BirminghamLive.
According to Google, users who wish to protect themselves from the new vulnerabilities can turn off Wi-Fi calling and Voice-over-LTE (VoLTE) in their device settings. Turning off these settings will remove the exploitation risk of these vulnerabilities.
How to turn off Wi-Fi calling
- • Press the phone icon.
- • Press the menu icon.
- • Press Settings.
- • Press the indicator next to "WiFi Calling" to turn the function on or off.
- • Press the Home key to return to the home screen.
Which phones are affected?
- Mobile devices from Samsung: S22, M33, M13, M12, A71, A53, A33, A21, A13, A12 and A04 series
- Mobile devices from Vivo: S16, S15, S6, X70, X60 and X30 series
- Mobile devices from Google: Pixel 6 and Pixel 7 series
- Any wearables that use the Exynos W920 chipset
- Any vehicles that use the Exynos Auto T5123 chipset
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