According to a study carried out by the security researchers from Check Point, over 40% of Android phones operating on Qualcomm Processors are vulnerable to cyber attacks. A reported released by the Tel Aviv based Cybersecurity firm suggests that the chip sets produced by Qualcomm were exhibiting 400 security flaws that could be exploited by hackers soon.
Estimates are in that the security flaw in Qualcomm’s Digital Signal Processor (DSP) could impact over 3 billion Android phones users on a global note. In simple terms DSP supervises the optimal use of hardware and software on an android phone that includes HD Capture, AI capabilities, multimedia features, quick charge feature, advanced AR abilities and audio related issues.
Check Point claims through its research that the DSP feature can be exploited by hackers as they use the flaw to turn a smart phone into a spying tool without the knowledge of the user. A hacker can also take hold of device data such as GPS location, voice recordings, audio conversations, photos, videos and precise location related info. As the vulnerability can be exploited as per the likes of the cyber criminal, it can make the device unresponsive after the cyber attack.
Qualcomm has taken a note of the flaws and has assigned them with the CVE’s that are as follows- CVE-2020-11201, CVE-2020-11202, CVE-2020-11206, CVE-2020-11207, CVE-2020-11208, CVE-2020-11209.
Although the researchers from Check Point have updated the law enforcement and the smart phone device manufactures about the vulnerabilities, it hasn’t officially revealed any technical details on how the vulnerabilities are exploited by hackers to the media.
As of now, the American silicon chip maker has addressed 6 vulnerabilities and is urging its users to keep their devices updated with the latest security updates.
