Samsung phones suffer lock-screen security flaw [VIDEO]
It appears Samsung’s phones are a tad insecure. A new flaw has been uncovered by a user that puts the home-screen of a user’s locked device at risk. In case you don’t know, the pattern and password unlock screens on Samsung phones offer access to the emergency dialer. From there, you can access the user’s ICE contact list.
Pressing the home or back button should normally take you back to the lock-screen, but Samsung’s latest phones — such as the Galaxy S3 and Galaxy Note II — incorrectly display the home-screen for a brief second at this point. The home-screen is show just long enough for you to see which apps and widgets are on that default home-screen, and you can even launch an app if you’re quick enough. The lock-screen will come up even if you do manage to get the app open, but there’s still reason to be worried here:
- If you have any sensitive info on your home-screen, like something a widget might show, peeping eyes could see all of that in one or two glances.
- If you have a direct dial widget for a contact on your home-screen the culprit could dial people you don’t want them to.
It’s not too alarming in the grand scheme of things, but we imagine it’s something Samsung won’t want to take lightly. The fix would appear to be rather simple, though, so we’ll see what they say in response to the flaw and inquire about any potential updates to address it in the near future. Watch a quick video of the flaw in action above.
[via PhoneArena thanks Joel!]