Serious security vulnerability was recently discovered on the Samsung flagship Galaxy S4 device, which could be leveraged by malicious software to fake arbitrary SMS text messages, which will then be received by or sent from affected phones.
Galaxy S4
This vulnerability was first discovered on June 17 by Qihoo 360, an Internet security company in China. The vulnerability has been promptly reported back to Samsung after the discovery and Samsung is already in the process of developing an official update to fix it.
This particular vulnerability is related to the “cloud backup” feature of Galaxy S4, which is not properly protected and can be abused. From the study, malicious software could potentially exploit it to send fraudulent scam text messages (to order premium-rated services) or fake incoming SMS messages (for phishing).
The implications are serious. By exploiting the vulnerable cloud backup feature, malware could pretend to be the identity of any contact, friend, relative, or organization (including banks) when faking phishing SMS messages. When these phishing SMS messages are received, users may be tricked into clicking fraudulent links or disclosing sensitive personal information.
While waiting for the official over-the-air technology update, 360’s security experts have suggested a number of mitigation strategies for users. For example, S4 users may temporarily disable the affected “cloud backup” feature when not in use. Qihoo 360 has also developed a temporary fix, which can be used to mitigate and prevent this particular vulnerability from being exploited. This fix can be deactivated after the official OTA update is released.
Meanwhile, all current 360 Mobile Security users can update the app to the latest version to be protected against this threat. The latest version of 360 Mobile Security is available on Google Play.
