Google, Samsung, LG commit to monthly Android security updates

PanARMENIAN.Net -

In the wake of the Stagefright bug, cell phone manufacturers have reportedly committed to posting monthly security updates to protect their Android smartphones, Wired reports.

As of Thursday, Aug 6, Google will roll out regular monthly over-the-air security updates to its devices. And so will Samsung and LG too.

“LG will be providing security updates on a monthly basis which carriers will then be able to make available to customers immediately. We believe these important steps will demonstrate to LG customers that security is our highest priority,” Wired quoted an LG representative as saying on Friday.

Samsung announced a similar program in an blog post: “Samsung Electronics will implement a new Android security update process that fast tracks the security patches over the air when security vulnerabilities are uncovered. These security updates will take place regularly about once per month.”

The first updates from all three companies will address the Stagefright vulnerability, which would have allowed a hacker to gain access to your Android device simply by sending a malicious text message.

Though the problem is easy to fix and Google had a patch ready when the news broke last week, getting it out to all of the fragmented Android ecosystem was another story. For most devices, Google depends on the individual phone manufacturers to push updates to their customers. The good news is the reaction to Stagefright was uncharacteristically swift. In addition to these new regular security update programs from Google, Samsung and LG, other major manufacturers such as HTC, Sony and Android One are reportedly sending Stagefright patches out to customers, Wired says.