Google has already taken efforts to enhance Android security, like speeding up updates and providing bug bounties; however, it’s now pacing things up by revealing flaws for the software it did not write.
The tech giant has introduced an Android Partner Vulnerability Initiative through XDA- Developers to handle security issues it finds that are particular to 3rd-party Android phones. The company hopes to drive remediation as well as warn its users about any possible issues.
Google added that this new initiative had addressed a few Android problems already. It did not mention the firms using the name through its blog post; however, many manufacturers were mentioned by one bug tracker.
Huawei had problems with the insecure phone backups last year, for instance. Vivo and Oppo smartphones had side-loading issues. Meanwhile, ZTE had been facing issues with its browser auto-fill and message service. The other affected manufacturers included Meizu as well as chip developer MediaTek, Transsion and Digitime.
The company informed all of its vendors prior to revealing the flaws and many have been already fixed.
Notably, Google’s move sets a reminder for us to keep our devices updated, but it also puts pressure on the Android partners for fixing their flaws.
