35% of Android smartphones will soon be deprived of security patches. Without these patches, phones will find themselves vulnerable to hacks. Many devices are unable to install a newer version of Google’s operating system.
Bitdefender, the famous antivirus, has just published a report dedicated to the security of Android smartphones. The company’s IT security experts point the finger at it Android distribution. “Android devices take around 70% of the market, but many of these devices pose a security risk because Google no longer supports them”explains Bitdefender.
Many phones still run on years-old versions of Android. Deprived of security patches, these old versions are gateways favored by pirates. Far too many consumers overlook the importance of patches and continue to use a vulnerable device years after it was declared obsolete by the manufacturer, the report laments.
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20% of Android smartphones already vulnerable
“We can still find devices running versions of Android that were released a decade ago, and they’re a lot more prevalent than you might think”, assures Bitdefender. To prove its claims, the company examined smartphones that use the Bitdefender app. As expected, there are a plethora of devices that haven’t upgraded to Android 12 or Android 11.
In details, Android 12 represents 36.47% of smartphones taken into account in the study. For its part, Android 11 is installed on 29.15% of devices. Note that Android 10 still equips 15.03% of phones. As Bitdefender points out, this version of Android will no longer be supported by Google from September 2022 when Android 13 will be deployed in final and stable version.
De facto, 35% of Android smartphones in circulation worldwide will be deprived of security patches, which leaves the door open to hackers. Without taking into account Android 10, we realize that 20% of devices are already vulnerable. Bitdefender recommends “consider the support period when buying a new device”. The firm advises avoiding phones with insufficient software support.
