Over 140 pre-installed applications from 29 manufacturers are full of security holes





Kryptowire, a computer security company, publishes a report on applications on smartphones with the Android operating system every year. The study is supported by the US Department of Homeland Security





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The company is exploring firmware and software pre-installed by manufacturers on smartphones. In the latest report for 2019, experts found 146 applications with vulnerabilities that could be used by malware.





All these applications are preinstalled by manufacturers on low-cost smartphones. They offer fraudsters the opportunity to eavesdrop on the built-in microphone, change unilateral access permissions and secretly transmit data to the manufacturer. All this - without the knowledge of use.





Similar vulnerabilities were found on smartphones from 29 different manufacturers. The list includes both relatively unknown brands such as Cubot and Doogee, as well as eminent companies such as Sony, Samsung and Xiaomi.





Given that the average Android smartphone receives from one hundred to four hundred pre-installed applications, vulnerabilities in them are a serious and growing danger for users.





According to experts, the problem is not insoluble. Kryptowire CEO Angelos Stavrou noted that Google may require a more thorough analysis of the code and vendor responsibility for software on products that are part of the Android ecosystem.