Researchers Uncover Unknown Android Flaws Used to Hack Into a Student's Phone
Amnesty International said that Google fixed previously unknown flaws in Android that allowed authorities to unlock phones using forensic tools. On Friday, Amnesty International published a report detailing a chain of three zero-day vulnerabilities developed by phone-unlocking company Cellebrite, which its researchers found after investigating the hack of a student protester’s phone in Serbia. The flaws were found in the core Linux USB kernel, meaning “the vulnerability is not limited to a particular device or vendor and could impact over a billion Android devices,” according to the report.
- This highlights the ongoing struggle for individuals exercising their fundamental rights, particularly freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, who are vulnerable to government hacking due to unpatched vulnerabilities in widely used technologies.
- What regulations or international standards would be needed to prevent governments from exploiting these types of vulnerabilities to further infringe on individual privacy and security?