This TouchWiz ‘security flaw’ is so ridiculous it’s no wonder Samsung overlooked it
There is a new Samsung TouchWiz security scare being bandied about the internet today. In a video demonstration, a Galaxy Note 2 owner shows how a glitch gives anyone opening the phone’s emergency dialer access to the handset’s home screen…for less than a second.
Yes, the video successfully demonstrates that an individual, with enough effort, can gain access to a Samsung device using this method to bypass the lock screen. It involves downloading a lock screen removal app from the Google Play Store via a series of deftly placed taps during the infinitesimal period of time the would-be phone thief has access to the device’s software.
The only problem is that a whole bunch of things need to go right in order for this to happen. There is the small matter of navigating to the Google Play Store, activating voice search, finding the proper app, and hoping the app shortcut lands in an easy to tap area. There is the matter of registering that tap (or any of the taps before it) within the allotted time. In other words, this seems like an awful lot of work for the average crook looking to get inside your phone. We doubt anyone would have even thought of this if it wasn’t for the obsessed tinkering of this individual Note 2 owner.
Anyway, freak out if you want. It seems like a super easy fix for Samsung, if they even bother patching it. To us, though, this security “flaw” smells more like a security fail.
[via Terrence Eden]