Android Master Key: Nearly Every Android Device At Risk Of Being Hacked Due To Security Flaw

While Android devices continue to grow in popularity as developers aim to create products that will remain competitive in the constantly growing field of technology, tech experts recently sent a strong message to Android users indicating that nearly all devices have the ability to be hacked due to the ability to break into their systems.

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According to Newsmax, hackers intending to retrieve any and all information off an Android device would be able to do so by successfully modifying an Android code into what is being referred to as a 'master key.' The cracking of the phone's information according to Newsmax could turn nearly 99 percent of Android devices unusable while leaving them open to possible data theft.

Hoping to shed some light on how the process works and how hackers could change code's to break into a large amount of phones, Bluebox Security explained in detail that the amount of information taken from a device depends on what type of application it is.

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Depending on the type of application, a hacker can exploit the vulnerability for anything from data theft to creation of a mobile botnet. The implications are huge.

All Android applications contain cryptographic signatures, which Android uses to determine if the app is legitimate and to verify that the app hasn't been tampered with or modified.

This vulnerability makes it possible to change an application's code without affecting the cryptographic signature of the application - essentially allowing a malicious author to trick Android into believing the app is unchanged even if it has been.

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While the majority of Android devices certainly have the potential to fall in the category of possible hacking, the Huffington Post notes that all versions of Android since the 1.6 version are affected. The total number of devices in that category climb to an astounding 900 million.

Due to the recent security threats, users of Android devices are encouraged to be wary of what applications they download, only accepting something when they are 100 percent sure of the content.