Security News
A growing number of Android Google Chrome users in Russia are reporting errors when attempting to install the latest update for the web browser. According to Russian news outlets and numerous user comments on the Play Store, the issues started on May 9th, 2022, when Google released Chrome version 101 for Android.
Finland's National Cyber Security Center has issued a warning about the FluBot Android malware infections increasing due to a new campaign that relies on SMS and MMS for distribution. The FluBot operators use SMS messages claiming to contain links to voicemail, missed call notifications, or alerts about incoming money from an unknown financial transaction.
A new set of trojanized apps spread via the Google Play Store has been observed distributing the notorious Joker malware on compromised Android devices. Despite continued attempts on the part of Google to scale up its defenses, the apps have been continually iterated to search for gaps and slip into the app store undetected.
Google has released monthly security patches for Android with fixes for 37 flaws across different components, one of which is a fix for an actively exploited Linux kernel vulnerability that came to light earlier this year. Tracked as CVE-2021-22600, the vulnerability is ranked "High" for severity and could be exploited by a local user to escalate privileges or deny service.
"This will simplify sign-ins across devices, websites, and applications no matter the platform - without the need for a single password," Google said.The new Fast IDentity Online sign-in system does away with passwords entirely in favor of displaying a prompt asking a user to unlock the phone when signing into a website or an application.
Google has released the second part of the May security patch for Android, including a fix for an actively exploited Linux kernel vulnerability. As Android uses a modified Linux kernel, the vulnerability also affects the operating system.
Ideally, Google wouldn't split the monthly updates apart in this fashion, but would provide a single, unified set of patches and expect all vendors of Android devices to get up-to-date as soon as possible. As the company admits in its bulletins, there are "Two security patch levels so that Android partners have the flexibility to fix a subset of vulnerabilities that are similar across all Android devices more quickly."
Google has released Android 13 Beta 1 and has sent out a call for bug hunters: Find bugs in it, and you'll get a 50% bonus reward payout. Getting Android 13 as secure as possible before the final release.
Google has officially released the first developer preview for the Privacy Sandbox on Android 13, offering an "Early look" at the SDK Runtime and Topics API to boost users' privacy online. "The Privacy Sandbox on Android Developer Preview program will run over the course of 2022, with a beta release planned by the end of the year," the search giant said in an overview.
Google has announced that all security researchers who report Android 13 Beta vulnerabilities through its Vulnerability Rewards Program will get a 50% bonus on top of the standard reward until May 26th, 2022. Bug hunters can get a maximum payout of $1.5 million for a full remote code execution exploit chain on the Titan M used in Google Pixel Phones running an Android 13 Beta build.