The single biggest rival to the iPhone has been exposed as being vulnerable to a remote access hack.
Communications security expert Ravi Borgaonkar discovered a fault with the Samsung Galaxy S III that, when successfully manipulated, enables someone to gain remote access to the device. It could also disable the phone’s SIM card.
This would allow hackers to perform a complete factory reset on the phone, leaving the owner confused and out of luck. The same malicious code can also cause havoc on other Galaxy phones, including the Galaxy S II.
With the advancement of new means of mobile communication, users need to be more vigilant than ever when it comes to protecting their devices. Mediums like QR codes, NFC media, and advanced text messaging didn’t even exist a few years ago and now they can be exploited in ways that keep hackers and security experts on their toes.
And in fact, this new vulnerability can only be accessed via those new methods. It is not possible for hackers to exploit it via an email or website.
Samsung has been very specific that it does not see other Android phones as its competitor – it looks directly at the iPhone. It believes the Galaxy S line can be the definitive Android brand.
And that isn’t just blind arrogance. Samsung owns an astounding 30.6% of the mobile phone market as of last month. It toppled Nokia as the leader in the industry for the first time in 15 years.
So it simply cannot afford anything that discredits its security implementations. So far Samsung has not commented on the newly revealed hack.
