Secure Android Smartphone 'Blackphone' Had a Major Vulnerability

Advertisement
By Robin Sinha | Updated: 8 January 2016 19:01 IST

The Blackphone smartphone, a handset that was touted as one of the most secure smartphones in the world, had a vulnerability that could lead to its modem being exploited by attackers, according to researchers from SentinelOne, a cyber-security firm.The smartphone was a joint effort by SilentCircle and Geeksphone, and has since been patched.

As per the researchers, exploiting the vulnerability a hacker could send and receive text messages; dial or connect calls; view phone call status including the phone number dialled; reset APN/SMSC/Power settings; force conference calls with other numbers; mute the modem speaker; force/unforce caller ID settings; force/unforce caller ID settings; find neighbouring cell towers connected to, and register a call forwarding number without letting the Blackphone owner know about it.

The vulnerability was found last year by Tim Strazzere of SentinelOne, and was addressed and accepted by SilentCircle in September and was resolved in a patch released by the company in December. The fix for the CVE -2015-6841 vulnerability come with the PrivatOS v1.1.13 update.

Advertisement

Although the flaw was fixed by the company, it still raises a question about user data security and privacy. This also makes it apparent that all the devices have vulnerability in one way or another - even the most secure device. SentinelOne said it found the Blackphone vulnerability during a training exercise, adding that it would have been very difficult to find or exploit by attackers.

Advertisement

Dan Ford, the Chief Security Officer at Silent Circle in a blog post thanked Strazzere and said the flaw only affects the Blackphone first-gen model with Nvidia Icera modem chip and the open socket used to communicate with it. "Vulnerabilities are inevitable. It is how you react to those vulnerabilities that counts. How does Silent Circle react? We patch vulnerabilities and give credit where credit is due," he said.

 

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.

Advertisement

Related Stories

Popular Mobile Brands
  1. Here's Why the OnePlus 15 Won't Sport a 2K Resolution Display
  2. Microsoft Might Bring These New Copilot Features to You Soon
  3. Apple Might Be Working on Three New Smartphones Including an iPhone Flip
  4. Honor Magic 8 Lite Surfaces Online With These Specifications
  5. Redmi K90 Pro Max, Redmi K90 Launched With Bose Audio: See Price, Features
  1. Physicists Reveal a New Type of Twisting Solid That Behaves Almost Like a Living Material
  2. James Webb Telescope Finds Early Universe Galaxies Were More Chaotic Than We Thought
  3. Microsoft Introduces Major Copilot Upgrade, Brings Avatar, Groups and Health Features
  4. Next-Gen Xbox Will Be 'Very Premium, Very High-End Curated Experience', Says Xbox President Sarah Bond
  5. ChatGPT's Voice Mode Could Soon Support Rich Content Including Links, Maps: Report
  6. Redmi Watch 6 Launched With 2.07-Inch AMOLED Screen, Up to 24-Day Battery Life: Price, Features
  7. UK FCA Cracks Down on Crypto Firms, Hundreds of Exchanges Receive Warnings
  8. Google Pixel 10 Series GPU Driver Update Reportedly Confirmed by Company
  9. Honor Magic 8 Lite Key Specifications Revealed via Product Listings, Could Launch Soon
  10. Hong Kong’s Securities Regulator Approves First Spot Solana ETF
Gadgets 360 is available in
Download Our Apps
Available in Hindi
© Copyright Red Pixels Ventures Limited 2025. All rights reserved.