Posted on August 11, 2018 at 3:44 PM

Homeland Security Declares Personal Data At Risk On ZTE Phones

In recent research, the Department of Homeland Security reported discovering a potential security risk in certain smartphones that could allow a hacker to access personal information, such as texts and emails. However, Homeland Security did not specify what companies’ smartphones had this problem.

ZTE, a Chinese smartphone company, is the first company to confirm that their phones have this flaw. It is unknown whether ZTE already knew about this security vulnerability, or if Homeland Security’s discovery was the first time they had heard of it.

ZTE has said that they are working with carriers to roll out the maintenance that resolidifies the phones’ security, and some have already delivered the update.

International Reactions

Before the discovery of these security threats, the U.S. banned business with ZTE due to conflicts with North Korea and Iran in April. However, this ban was temporarily lifted for the month of July, and U.S. senators are saying that ZTE could be a major threat to national security.

The UK also placed a ban on ZTE’s products. The UK National Cyber Security Center is concerned that the Chinese government’s close relationship to ZTE could become a security threat to the nation.

Only ZTE?

While ZTE is the only company to have come forth and claim to have the specific security risk that the Department of Homeland Security discovered, Samsung is also under fire for some recent security flaws.

The Samsung S7 has also just been discovered to be vulnerable to a security risk known as a Meltdown, despite past claims of immunity. This microchip defect would allow a malicious virus to access private user data. Luckily, Samsung has since released several software patches to recover the integrity of their security systems.

US lifts ban on China's ZTE after $1.4 billion penalty – https://t.co/ABx0lFqmR8 pic.twitter.com/QXE3fQtakD

— Brave Heights News (@braveheightsnew) August 9, 2018