Fraunhofer Reports Massive Security Issues with Apps
Many popular Android apps pose significant security threats, according to researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Secure Information Technology in Darmstadt, Germany (Fraunhofer SIT).
The researchers conlcuded that by exploiting weaknesses in the way the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocol is used, attackers can steal sensitive access data, e.g., user names and passwords. Fraunhofer SIT informed over 30 affected app manufacturers and so far, 16 closed the security gap. Among those were Amazon, Yahoo, Google, and Volkswagen Bank.
The user's security risk depends on the specific app: With some apps only personal photos might be at risk; with banking apps, access data might be used for unauthorized money transfers. An especially grave risk may occur if apps use the single-sign on services of Google or Microsoft. In these cases access data is used for a variety of services, like email and cloud storage.
