Global smartphone brand exposed to dangerous security vulnerabilities

A group of cybersecurity researchers has discovered multiple security vulnerabilities within a wide range of software running on devices.

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According to reports, the global smartphone brand is Xiaomi, and its security flaws are present within its own implementation of Google's Android operating system, which is a different system to the one present on Android devices in the US. Security researcher and founder of mobile security startup Oversecured, Sergey Toshin, said his team found twenty vulnerabilities throughout the Xiaomi devices, ranging from holes in the settings application to the Bluetooth software.

Toshin said the most egregious of these security vulnerabilities would have enabled hackers to gain "system privileges," which may have led to user passwords being stolen and access to social media accounts.

More specifically, Toshin explained to Forbes that if a hacker wanted to exploit the biggest security weakness on the device, they would likely do it by installing a malicious application on the Xiaomi phone. The hacker would use phishing techniques to get a user to download it or snag users with a bad app on a marketplace such as Google Play.

"We believe every device was vulnerable since [the flaws] are part of the firmware," Toshin said

"Xiaomi needs to invest more resources in the security of its devices," added Toshin