Phones using Viber can be attacked

A vulnerability can be exploited by bad guys and gain complete control of Android phones that install the Viber application even though the device is locked.

Assault hijacking test of an Android smartphone installed Viber, targeted attack phone (left) and victim phone (right)

The hijacking attack test of an Android smartphone installs Viber

Error discovered and announced by Bkav, a security company, and alerted to security magazines and websites around the world in the past week.

According to Bkav, exploiting vulnerabilities in Viber to bypass lockscreen of Android phones is very simple , although for each model of exploiting method there is a little difference. Specifically, hackers only need to manipulate some of the popup messages (windows) of Viber's new messages in combination with some small tricks such as using the phone's Notification Bar to send Viber messages to victims. It is possible to fully access the device and use all applications and features on the phone like the owner of the device.

Mr. Nguyen Minh Duc, director of network security division of Bkav analyzed: 'The way Viber handles popup messages to take out the lock screen is not a normal way. It leads to uncontrollable programming logic and a vulnerability. The danger of this kind of vulnerability is that bad guys can install eavesdropping software, spy on their phones or steal data that users don't know about. '

In PC Magazine (pcmag.com, USA), Viber representative confirmed the security error and said the company is fixing it.

Viber is an OTT (over-the-top) application for smart mobile phones that allows texting, free phone calls over the Internet. Particularly in the Google Play app store, the number of Viber installers ranges from 50 million to 100 million. Thus, the number of users at risk of being affected by the vulnerability does not stop at 50 million, but can reach hundreds of millions globally. In Vietnam, the number of smartphones that can get this vulnerability is up to nearly 4 million devices (Viber currently has about 4 million users in Vietnam as of March 2013).

While the manufacturer has not released an official patch, Bkav recommends that mobile phones should be separate and not allowed to be used by anyone else. At the same time, users should regularly monitor information to update the patch as soon as it is released.