‘Billions’ of your records at risk from mobile app

June 19, 20150 Comments

hack* Flaw leaves data stored by apps vulnerable -researchers

* Almost every category of app considered vulnerable

* Passwords, addresses, photos, medical data all at risk

* Records affected “will likely be in the billions”

Security researchers have uncovered a flaw in the way thousands of popular mobile applications store data online, leaving users’ personal information, including passwords, addresses, door codes and location data, vulnerable to hackers. The team of German researchers found 56 million items of unprotected data in the applications it studied in detail, which included games, social networks, messaging, medical and bank transfer apps.

Most such apps use services like Amazon’s Web Services or Facebook’s Parse to store, share or back up users’ data.

While such services offer ways for developers to protect the data, most choose the default option, based on a string of letters and numbers embedded in the software’s code, called a token.

Google declined to comment, while Apple and Amazon did not respond to queries. A Facebook spokesperson said that after researchers notified it of the vulnerability the company had been working with affected developers. She declined to provide details.

Security researchers say mobile applications are more at risk of failing to secure users’ data than those running on desktop or laptop computers. This is partly because implementing stronger security is harder, and partly because developers are in a rush to release their apps, said Ibrahim Baggili, who runs a cybersecurity lab at the University of New Haven.

Other security researchers say that while responsibility for weak authentication lies with those developing the apps, others in the chain should shoulder some of the blame.

Source : Reuters


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