KUALA LUMPUR: Studies have revealed that many Android devices are still running on older operating systems (OS), despite numerous efforts by Google over the last nine months to improve the platform’s security level.
Statistics provided by renowned computer security service firm Duo Security, show that a vast majority of devices are still operating on older OS versions, which feature an outdated security patch level, reported tech website Softpedia.
Duo Security’s statistics demonstrate that 32 per cent of all Android devices on the market are virtually “un-patchable” at software level, due to them running on extremely outdated OS versions.
As for the remaining Android devices, the statistics revealed that approximately 51 per cent - more than half - are worryingly operating on Android OS versions minus the latest security patches.
This effectively means that at present, only 17 per cent of Android devices are using an OS version that is safeguarded and protected against exploits.
Based on Duo Security’s data, only three out of every 10 Android devices are currently protected against 24 critical vulnerabilities which Google had since patched since the beginning of the year.
The blame on the delay behind applying these crucial security patches, said the report, lies squarely on the original equipment manufacturers (OEM), who have not displayed the required urgency to integrate Google’s patches into their custom Android OS implementations.
Duo Security’s data revealed that Huawei leads the pack in terms of being the most diligent manufacturer, having updated an impressive 77 per cent of its devices to the most current Android security patch.
Ranked on the number of devices sold, Huawei is placed fifth among the OEMs, just behind Samsung, LGE, Motorola, and HTC, demonstrating that large profits do not necessarily translate into better security practices.
Duo Security’s studies also showed that Samsung, whose devices enjoy a more than 60 per cent market share, had fared worse than LGE and Motorola in terms of security patches.
Duo Security’s Olabode Anise said manufacturers and carriers alike should work to bring automatic updates to their customers.
“By doing so, they would alleviate the burden customers and IT administrators have of manually applying updates, shorten the window of time attackers have to exploit vulnerabilities after they’ve been disclosed and bring better operating system performance to their user without sacrificing business productivity.”