Major Security Fault in Android Camera App

[VidThreeNorth]

"Security firm warns Android camera vulnerability lets hackers spy on phone owners", published Nov 20, 2019, Brittany Hillen, DPReview.com

"Security firm warns Android camera vulnerability lets hackers spy on phone owners"

Basically, there is a flaw in the Android "Camera" app that can allow someone to remotely control your camera, copy pictures and videos from your camera to a remote location -- even when you are not using your phone. For Google and Samsung phones there are solutions either available or coming soon. NOTE: this is probably only for reasonably current phones. I expect that phones that are out of production now are in the "tough luck" category. No mention of LG, Huawei, Sony, or any other brands in this article, but the better brands are probably working on it. The method of accessing it has not been described in this article, so I have no idea if or how anti-virus software can deal with it.
[2019-11-21 13:53]
Corrected typos and spelling (Huawei)

 

[marmle]

My advice to Android users is to only turn on things like bluetooth (which has little to no security) and wifi when you really need them, and never ever enable tethering or wifi hotspots. It's also a good idea to use a paid VPN service for added security (especially if using public wifi) and encrypt your phone too.

 

[VidThreeNorth]

I'd add uninstall the "Camera" app, but I don't think that doing so is possible for most people.

 

[marmle]

I'd add uninstall the "Camera" app, but I don't think that doing so is possible for most people.

As a normal user you cant, but it is probably possible with root (administrator) privileges. Masking tape is the easier option