Donald Trump's phone use is raising security concerns. The Secret Service issued Trump a secured phone for his inauguration, but the president has since reportedly used an unsecured Android phone to tweet from the White House while watching television. Trump's use of an unsecured phone comes after an election filled with hacks of the personal communications of Democratic political figures and organizations. Individual phones are easy to hack for anyone motivated enough, security experts say.
The headlining concern around Trump using Android is that he’s likely not protected against phishing attacks or malware. All it takes is clicking on one malicious link or opening one untoward attachment—either of which can appear as though it were sent from a trusted source—to compromise the device. From there, the phone could be infected with malware that spies on the network the device is connected to, logs keystrokes, takes over the camera and microphone for surreptitious recording, and more.
Google is diligent about Android security, releasing monthly updates that patch known flaws. The problem, though, is that those updates are only available to a handful of devices at first, including those in Google’s own Nexus line. Android phones have notoriously uneven security because the operating system is open source, allowing manufacturers and third-parties to put modified versions, or “forks,” of Android onto devices before selling them.
Credits:
https://www.wired.com/2017/01/trump-android-phone-security-threat/
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