04 October 2011 | Author: L Boyd Media Intern

HTC scrambles to release privacy fix for smartphones

Following the discovery of a privacy flaw in its smartphones, HTC will imminently release a fix to combat potential threats from malicious third-party software.

The Taiwanese smartphone manufacturer identified problems with several smartphone models relating to user's GPS location, email accounts, SMS data and call logs. Such data could be accessed by net-enabled apps, posing a significant security risk to the personal information of certain HTC users.

"HTC is working very diligently to quickly release a security update that will resolve the issue on affected devices," a spokesperson told the BBC.

Once a fix is created, those vulnerable to malicious attacks can download the fix over WiFi or 3G connections. Models potentially at risk include the EVO 3D, EVO 4G, Thunderbolt and the Sensation range, though exact details have not been confirmed by HTC.

The flaw was made public by blogger Artem Russakovskii , who identified the threat. Although praising of HTC's prompt response, Russakovskii said he remains concerned and cynical that large amounts of personal data are stored in a single file.

"While I applaud HTC's desire to fix the situation quickly, I do have to wonder whether the patch will simply apply some sort of an authentication scheme to the service while letting it continue collecting the same kind of sensitive data to be potentially reported back to HTC or carriers."

In the meantime, the company urges its smartphone users to "use caution when downloading, using, installing and updating applications from untrusted sources".

Particular apps to be weary of include those that automatically post top scores or messages on social networking sites, as these are most likely to take advantage of the flaw.

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