Photo: Karlis Dambrans/Flickr
Samsung now appears to be taking security a little more seriously.The South Korean giant said today that it will from now on release monthly patches for Android, the mobile operating system that powers most of the company's smartphones, including its popular Galaxy line of devices. Samsung says it's "fast tracking" these patches to better protect users from the kind of nasty bugs that occasionally surface on Android."With the recent security issues, we have been rethinking the approach to getting security updates to our devices in a more timely manner," said Dong Jin Koh, the company's executive vice president of mobile research. "Since software is constantly exploited in new ways, developing a fast response process to deliver security patches to our devices is critical to keep them protected."Samsung's pledge to more frequently release Android updates comes just a few days after the discovery of Stagefright, a nasty little bug that could let attackers remotely install malware on smartphones, tablets, and other Android-based devices. The bug prompted our very own Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai to openly lament the sorry state of Android security in a story that, well, ruffled a few feathers.
When Android has lost @lorenzoFB, it's lost America http://t.co/33wg9OemFI
— Alex Fitzpatrick (@AlexJamesFitz) July 29, 2015