Biggest Security Update in History, Google Fixes Android Hijack Bug Stagefright

This week, Google is releasing the “single largest software update the world has ever seen”. It has started rolling out patches for fixing the Android hijack bug Stagefright that targeted your phones with a single text.

Android users were greeted with a shocking news last week when security researchers told the world about the Android hijack bug Stagefright. This bug lets hackers control your phones with a single text. Well, take a sigh of relief as Google is busy fixing the bug and a patch will be rolled out in the next few days. Talking at a Black Hat session, Adrian Ludwig, Android security head at Google said:

My guess is that this is the single largest software update the world has ever seen. Hundreds of millions of devices are going to be updated in the next few days. It’s incredible.

At the “Android Security State of the Union” talk at Black Hat, Ludwig shed some light on Google’s prompt efforts to fix the Android hijack bug Stagefright. This bug enabled hackers to threaten nearly a billion Android phone users. At the moment, OTA updates for Android hijack bug Stagefright are being pushed to the complete Nexus phone lineup that would train the phones to repair themselves. But, what about the other non-Nexus users?

Also read: Year’s Craziest Android Phone: Unhackable and Unbreakable Turing Phone

Don’t worry people, your phones will be getting the same update this week. From now on, major smartphone makers like Google, Samsung, LG and others have committed to roll out monthly security updates. This Android hijack bug Stagefright targets Google’s Hangout messaging app. Till the update is released for your Android phone, Ludwig has advised people to use a different messaging app.

“We’ve looked at the events of the last few weeks and realized we need to move faster, and that we need to tell people what we are doing,” Ludwig said.

The Android hijack bug Stagefright is a serious flaw that affects about 95 percent devices with a single text. Considering these increasing threats, Ludwig said that the Android maker is investing heavily in blocking the harmful apps and thus hardening the Android ecosystem.

Do you appreciate Google’s prompt efforts to fix the Android hijack bug Stagefright? Tell us in comments below.

See our coverage on Black Hat Conference 2015 here.