[BBC] One billion Android devices at risk of hacking

[Andrew]

More than a billion Android devices are at risk of being hacked because they are no longer protected by security updates, watchdog Which? has suggested.

...

Anyone using an Android phone released in 2012 or earlier should be especially concerned, it said.

 

Source

[schuck6566]

It's not just android devices(which are made by ALOT of different companies so support varies) Apple has dropped support for older devices left and right. "iOS 13 ended support for all iPhones using the Apple A8 SoC or earlier and having less than 2 GB of RAM. This also marks the first time support for 32-bit devices was dropped completely (e.g. iOS 13 is compatible on devices with a 64-bit architecture only). Devices not upgradeable to iOS 13 include the iPhone 5S, iPhone 6 / 6 Plus." "iPadOS 13 supports iPads with an Apple A8 / A8X chip or later. The software does not support devices with 1 GB of RAM including the first-generation iPad Air and the iPad Mini 2 and iPad Mini 3." And if say your Mac Mini is 9 or more years older you're stuck with some version of OS10. It's companies forcing people to buy newer versions of their product by stopping support for equipment that still works. Notice Windows 10 STILL works on computers that were designed for XP and Windows 2000! That's because Microsoft isn't making most of THEIR money selling the hardware so they don't care how many new machines you buy,as long as you buy a new version of the OS!

 

[Andrew]

I don't think iOS is at big a risk as it's not open source software whereas Android is, so it's a lot easier to learn the exploits. Especially when they aren't getting security updates anymore. iOS products do get 5 years of OS support plus a further year of security updates. Occasionally a bit longer, the iPhone 4, 4S and 5 (2010, 2011 and 2012) had a security update not too long ago and I believe the 6/6 Plus is losing support in September. Most Android manufactures drop support after 2-3 years completely.

 

They also have the problem where it's the network provider that puts out updates. Not the phone manufacturer/Google. I have an Motorola phone somewhere that I can't update beyond 4.4 (it released with 4.3) despite the fact that the hardware itself is able to use up to 5.1.1 simply because the phone network didn't put out the update for my phone. I could root it and install it myself but that's a lot more effort than it needs to be.

[ENTERPRISE]

The funny thing is, this is obvious. Any product on earth that is internet connected that uses deprecated software will be open to attack, it is just the nature of software no longer under support.

 

We all know devices so far as the hardware are generally not to blame as later versions of software will certainly work... just not officially. That is why thanks to those guys making custom roms or different forks of software still bring us those security updates

 

It is however understandable why companies cease support for older products... otherwise it completely devalues there new product line. We might hate it...but it is logical when your in the money making business.