Android is the most popular mobile operating system on Earth:
About 80 percent of smartphones run on it. And, according to mobile security experts at the firm
Zimperium, there's a gaping hole in the software — one that would let hackers break into someone's phone and take over, just by knowing the phone's number.
Just A Text
In this attack, the target would not need to goof up — open an attachment or download a file that's corrupt. The malicious code would take over instantly, the moment you receive a text message.
"This happens even before the sound that you've received a message has even occurred," says Joshua Drake, security researcher with Zimperium and co-author of
Android Hacker's Handbook. "That's what makes it so dangerous. [It] could be absolutely silent. You may not even see anything."
