A cybersecurity group based in Israel revealed that the Samsung Galaxy S4 smartphones are vulnerable to hackers. They can install malicious software, track emails, and record data communications.
According to the Wall Street Journal, researcher Mordechai Guri from Ben-Gurion University's Cyber Security Lab discovered the security flaw by intercepting with the secure data of Samsung’s latest security platform called Knox. Once the hacker is in, he could easily modify the data and enter a code that could override the secured network.
Guri accidentally found the vulnerability while looking at another issue. He tested it on other S4 devices sold in the market and got the same results. He couldn’t make out though how long the vulnerability has been out and if there were devices that were already compromised.
Samsung Knox is a mobile security which was first released on the Samsung Galaxy Note 3. The platform offers security features that allow business and personal data to be stored on the same device. The Korean company claimed that it "addresses all major security gaps in Android."
It is still unclear whether the new report will affect Samsung’s negotiations with its potential buyers who are still using the BlackBerry platform because of its proven security. The company is working to gain partnership with the U.S Department of Defense, and other federal agencies and business companies. Samsung is not alone though because the Pentagon has opened its doors to other options as well including iOS and Windows-based devices.
Lt. Col. Damien Pickart, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Defense, when asked by WSJ didn’t comment on the issue. However, he said that the government will not finalize any deal with any smartphone maker until it resolves all security issues.
Samsung promised to investigate the vulnerability report.
Meanwhile, the Knox security platform is not pre-installed on the Samsung Galaxy S4 devices so no need to worry if you have one. However, it is already available for download.
