November 5, 2015 By Shane Schick 2 min read

The team at Google charged with looking for security risks may be called Project Zero, but its investigation into the Galaxy S6 Edge has revealed a much higher number of potential vulnerabilities.

According to a post issued by Project Zero earlier this week, an audit of Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge smartphones have at least 11 issues described as high-impact. These problems include security holes in the gallery app and email client. While original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) theoretically take a lot of time and effort to test their products for security risks prior to release, the Google researchers uncovered the flaws in just one week.

The Verge suggested that to some extent, the security issues in products like the Galaxy S6 Edge are to be expected, given the cutthroat competition among manufacturers and the challenge of standing out in the Android market. It remains to be seen whether BlackBerry, which is expected to launch its first Android device called the Priv, will do any better in keeping cyberthreats at bay.

Fortunately, Samsung is already working to make its products safer for consumers and businesses. Many of the script injection problems, JavaScript vulnerabilities and other flaws have already been patched, BetaNews reported. While at least three issues still needed to be dealt with at press time, Samsung received kudos from Project Zero for the speed of its response to the findings.

Of course, Android security has been an ongoing concern, particularly among enterprise users, which is probably why Google and Samsung committed to monthly updates earlier this year, Mashable pointed out. One of the interesting things about Project Zero’s work is the seemingly straightforward approach it has to finding the flaws: Teams attempt to gain access to unauthorized permissions through an app on Google Play or by injecting code into a phone and trying to maintain it, even if the devices were wiped clean.

The Telegraph noted that besides Samsung, a number of other OEMs are all expected to release updates of their devices supporting the latest version of Android. These include LG, HTC and Sony. Here’s hoping the next generation of Galaxy S6 Edge devices are a little more secure.

More from

What does resilience in the cyber world look like in 2025 and beyond?

6 min read -  Back in 2021, we ran a series called “A Journey in Organizational Resilience.” These issues of this series remain applicable today and, in many cases, are more important than ever, given the rapid changes of the last few years. But the term "resilience" can be difficult to define, and when we define it, we may limit its scope, missing the big picture.In the age of generative artificial intelligence (gen AI), the prevalence of breach data from infostealers and the near-constant…

Airplane cybersecurity: Past, present, future

4 min read - With most aviation processes now digitized, airlines and the aviation industry as a whole must prioritize cybersecurity. If a cyber criminal launches an attack that affects a system involved in aviation — either an airline’s system or a third-party vendor — the entire process, from safety to passenger comfort, may be impacted.To improve security in the aviation industry, the FAA recently proposed new rules to tighten cybersecurity on airplanes. These rules would “protect the equipment, systems and networks of transport…

Protecting your digital assets from non-human identity attacks

4 min read - Untethered data accessibility and workflow automation are now foundational elements of most digital infrastructures. With the right applications and protocols in place, businesses no longer need to feel restricted by their lack of manpower or technical capabilities — machines are now filling those gaps.The use of non-human identities (NHIs) to power business-critical applications — especially those used in cloud computing environments or when facilitating service-to-service connections — has opened the doors for seamless operational efficiency. Unfortunately, these doors aren’t the…

Topic updates

Get email updates and stay ahead of the latest threats to the security landscape, thought leadership and research.
Subscribe today