Over 400 vulnerabilities have been found in Qualcomm chips which are used on so many Android devices.
While buying a new device, camera design ram, and processor are the main things you look after. Talking about Qualcomm, about 40 percent of Android devices use Qualcomm Snapdragon chips.
However, researchers have found that Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chip, one of the most widely used in Android phones, has hundreds of bits of vulnerable code that leaves millions of Android users at risk.
These chips are used in premium phones from brands like Google, Samsung, LG, Xiaomi, and more. heck Point, a cybersecurity firm, found the digital signal processor (DSP) in Qualcomm Snapdragon chips had over 400 vulnerabilities in the code.
All these flaws have been named as ‘Achilles’.
These flaws are so serious that if exploited the hackers can turn any smartphone into a spying tool without the user’s interaction. Hackers can get access to data including photos, videos, call recordings, real-time microphone data, GPS, and location data as well.
All they need to do is install one app on your device. Then your phone is literally in their control. They could also install malware which you wouldn’t know where it is. Also, it will be unremovable.
It’s difficult for anyone other than the manufacturer of the DSP to review what makes them work. That could be seen as a good thing as it makes them a tough nut to crack.
Check Point says it has disclosed its findings to Qualcomm, government officials, and the affected vendors.
While Qualcomm has reportedly since fixed 6 flaws found, that doesn’t mean your Android phone is automatically safe. Mobile phone vendors will have to roll out the security fixes to their smartphones. This will take some time though.
In a statement, Qualcomm says it has “worked diligently to validate the issue and make appropriate mitigations available” to smartphone makers. The company has stated none of the Achilles exploitation has been found till date. It is still advised for users to keep on updating the security patch updates regularly and download only verified apps from the Play Store.
Except Qualcomm Android phones have MediaTek chipsets and in-house chipsets such as Samsung’s Exynos and Huawei’s Kirin. This is not a problem for iPhone users because they have their own bionic chipsets.