Google has started issuing a patch to tighten up a well-publicized security hole in its
Google Android mobile operating system. The
patch is being pushed out to users in the form of a system update and users are given a choice to update now or later.
Last week, a team of security researchers went public with a security problem in Android's Web browser when used on the T-Mobile G1 smart phone. The group, Baltimore-based Independent Security Evaluators (ISE), said a serious security flaw in the Android OS leaves it open for hackers to launch drive-by attacks on users' devices. In its warning, ISE said the threat could allow users' G1s to be compromised or exposed if they visited a malicious Web site from the smart phone and an attacker could trick a G1 user into revealing sensitive information via the Web.
At the time the exploit was discovered, ISE principal analyst Charlie Miller said he'd keep the specific details of it under wraps until Google issued a fix.
The revelation of the security hole came roughly a week after Google Android made its first public appearance on the T-Mobile G1, the first available device to use the open source Linux OS.
While not all users have received the update yet, Google has said it will roll out the patch progressively. All updates are expected to be issued soon.
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