Google has brought another important security update to the Android platform. It will bring big changes for Android phone users. The technical changes that Google introduced with this security update could pose security risks to older phones and force users to buy new phones.
Google said the company is now 'actively fighting criminals who try to defraud users or spread malware for nefarious purposes, and is providing users with tools to prevent such abuse.' Using Google's Play Integrity API, app developers can now ensure that users do not install or update apps from third-party app stores or unofficial sources on Android phones. It will protect the phone from malware and harmful apps. However, this new security feature is only available on Android 13 or later, which means it won't work on older devices.
Google has improved the security system of the phones through the new security feature. But this will cause problems for older phone users. Because this feature will work on Android 13 or later version. Older phones will not receive new security updates. As a result, these phones will not be able to run new security features or high security apps. In particular, this is a big problem for apps related to banking or sensitive information, which will force users of older phones to buy newer models.
According to Google, the 'Play Integrity' feature prevents users from installing unauthorized or harmful apps, thereby increasing the phone's security and reducing the risk of installing malware or other types of dangerous software. Apps that use this feature install 80 percent less unauthorized software or illegal third-party apps than other apps.
With the new update, it will use 'hardware-bucked security signals' technology, making it more difficult and expensive for hackers to break the security system. These signals will check the security strength of the device and ensure that the phone has received the latest security updates. This will ensure more security especially for banking and other security related apps, government apps and enterprise apps.
Google has created a clear divide between the old and new phones with this update. Older devices running Android 12 or below will not get this powerful security feature.
Currently, about 55 percent of Android devices are running Android 13 or later. But the remaining one to two billion active Android devices are still running older versions. This will make Android's security system much more vulnerable.
According to Zimperium's 'Global Mobile Threat' report, 14 percent of Android phones in use in organizations cannot be updated and are vulnerable to cyber attacks, compared to just 1 percent for iPhones.
“When phones and tablets go out of patch management, they don't get all the security updates,” said Jake Moore, an expert at ESET, a Vakia-based cybersecurity company. Over time, devices can easily become victims of cyber attacks if they do not receive new valid patch updates.'
Meanwhile, Zimperium's Chief Scientist Nico Chiaraviglio said, 'Android's open ecosystem creates security concerns for the devices. On the other hand, iOS's strict app security often fails to detect malware.
Google has confirmed that the new Play Integrity API is now available to app developers and will be mandatory from May 2025. Especially banking and other security related apps will quickly adopt the feature. As a result, older devices will have more problems using them if they do not get the update.
It is clear that by 2025, buying a new phone will be very important for users of older Android phones. Because new security updates will not work properly on older devices.
Source: Forbes
