Samsung to Issue a Patch for SwiftKey Hack

In the wake of the controversy revolving around the vulnerability of the pre-installed SwiftKey keyboard app on some Samsung smartphones, the South Korean company has issued a statement to Android Central about their plans of rolling out a patch to mitigate the risks of the said keyboard exploit we reported yesterday.

According to a mobile security company, NowSecure, hackers can take advantage of the vulnerability of the SwiftKey on some Samsung smartphones to snoop in on user’s voice calls and SMS, inbound and outbound.

The security firm has added that the exploit can potentially allow hackers to install malware without the user knowing which would allow them to steal sensitive information from the user.

For their part, Samsung stated that they are aware of the issue and will be providing a security update in the coming days. Here’s the whole statement that they gave to Android Central:

“Samsung takes emerging security threats very seriously. We are aware of the recent issue reported by several media outlets and are committed to providing the latest in mobile security. Samsung Knox has the capability to update the security policy of the phones, over-the-air, to invalidate any potential vulnerabilities caused by this issue. The security policy updates will begin rolling out in a few days. In addition to the security policy update, we are also working with SwiftKey to address potential risks going forward.”

While we’re still waiting for Samsung to seed the security patch, here are some things that NowSecure suggests users to do reduce the risk of an attack on your device:

* Avoid insecure Wi-fi networks
* Use a different mobile device
* Contact carriers for patch information and timing

[Android Central]