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Major Galaxy S III vulnerability patched by Samsung, update now available

Updated Dec 19th, 2018 8:37PM EST
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Samsung (005930) on Wednesday confirmed it has issued an update that fixes a major security flaw in its flagship Galaxy S III smartphone.  The vulnerability, which was uncovered earlier this week, allowed a simple script included in the code on any webpage to remotely wipe the Galaxy S III, erasing all of its data and restoring it to factory settings. “We would like to assure our customers that the recent security issue concerning the Galaxy S III has already been resolved through a software update,” a Samsung spokesperson said in a statement given to Engadget. “We recommend all Galaxy S III customers download the latest software update, which can be done quickly and easily via the Over-The-Air (OTA) service.” The security hole still affects other smartphones that include Samsung’s TouchWiz user interface and service layer, and reports suggest other Android smartphones may be vulnerable to the hack as well.

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Zach Epstein
Zach Epstein Executive Editor

Zach Epstein has been the Executive Editor at BGR for more than 10 years. He manages BGR’s editorial team and ensures that best practices are adhered to. He also oversees the Ecommerce team and directs the daily flow of all content. Zach first joined BGR in 2007 as a Staff Writer covering business, technology, and entertainment.

His work has been quoted by countless top news organizations, and he was recently named one of the world's top 10 “power mobile influencers” by Forbes. Prior to BGR, Zach worked as an executive in marketing and business development with two private telcos.