Samsung, security flaw affects 100 million smartphones

The security patch they are often underestimated when compared to actual system updates, yet they are a crucial element in guaranteeing users the protection of personal data from any cyber attacks e internal security holes; even a tech giant like Samsung can make mistakes on a large scale.

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This is what is deduced from the paper academic drafted by two researchers of theTel Aviv universityby title “Trust Dies in Darkness: Shedding Light on Samsung’s TrustZone Keymaster Design“, Which explains in detail the flaw that has struck further 100 million of Samsung smartphones, including:

Samsung - Galaxy S21 5G

The complete document, freely availablegoes into detail with the characteristics of the encryption techniques used in smartphones Samsung architecture-based ARMIn essence, the researchers used a reverse engineering practice to locate a flaw in the cryptographic key management area Keymasterwhich protects a range of sensitive data including passwords, and exploits it to bypass an authentication mechanism.

The simulated attack in the study affects precisely the keys (so-called “blobs”), which Samsung did not protect with a encryption level adequate. The decryption of the keys thus becomes relatively easy, making these models highly vulnerable to cyber attacks, as has been shown in recent times by other “proof-of-concept” experiments, ie simulated in a controlled environment to demonstrate this type of flaw.

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There good news for the millions of users who own one of these terminals is that Samsung she realized of this flaw months ago. The manufacturer does not have a sure way of determining how many terminals are left with a version of Android that contains this security flaw, but it has promptly provided a solution to devices still supported with a series of security patch between August and October 2021.

There is therefore no need to be alarmed, at least if you own a smartphone anymore recent: the invitation is always the one a keep up to date their devices, regardless of incidents like this.

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