Xiaomi Mi 4 flagship riddled with malware and uncertified Android version, or is it?
Xiaomi’s Mi 4 is one of the best smartphones you cannot purchase so easily -- but it might be for the best, it seems. Don’t get me wrong: The Mi 4 packs in top-of-the-line specifications, the latest Android-based operating system, and is incredibly cheap, but if data security firm Bluebox's latest report is to be believed, it also comes with malware and a host of other issues. The handset seems to have been tampered with by an unidentified third party, however. We’ll have more details on this later today.
The security firm has flagged the handset by the Chinese smartphone manufacturer for a number of reasons including issues like pre-installed malware and an adware that disguises itself as a verified Google application, and vulnerability to several flaws. Furthermore, the operating system running on the Xiaomi’s smartphone is a non-certified version of Android. “[Xiaomi Mi 4’s] vulnerable to every vulnerability we scanned for”, wrote Andrew Blaich, lead security expert at Bluebox.
Blaich noted that the Mi 4 is running a non-certified version of Android that hosts a number of vulnerabilities that date back to old Android software, leading the firm to believe that Mi 4’s MIUI ROM is a mashup between KitKat, and an older version of Android. For the stated reasons, the firm concludes that the smartphone might not be ready for "consumer use".
