Serious flaw found in Android: lock screen can be bypassed

A serious flaw has been found in the Android operating system. Google has awarded the researcher who discovered that the lock screen of a smartphone can be bypassed with a sum of money for finding the vulnerability. So under certain circumstances you can skip the lock screen.

Lock screen leak in Android

We collect an infinite amount of data on our telephone. It is therefore very wise to secure this with, for example, a fingerprint or a pin code (which is not obvious). However, security researcher David Schütz has discovered that you can bypass the lock screen of your Android device with a detour.



He actually discovered this by accident. He had entered the PIN code incorrectly several times, after which the PUK code was entered. He noticed that he immediately entered the device without a pattern or PIN code, only the fingerprint scanner was requested. However, it soon became apparent that this verification could also be circumvented. By offering a finger incorrectly often enough, the phone will no longer ask for this after a while, after which you enter the device and skip the lock screen.

Google has been informed of the vulnerability in Android by the researcher. As a thank you for sharing the leak, the researcher was awarded $70,000 by Google. With a new security update, Google has addressed the vulnerability and resolved the issue. However, this was only addressed with the November update and as long as a device does not have that update, a device is susceptible to the leak. If your phone no longer receives updates at all, it is advisable to look at a new smartphone that will allow you to safely go through life again for the time being. On DroidApp we previously published a nice article with the best smartphones up to 200 euros.

Through xdavidhu.me