HTC America has announced this weekend that it will settle with the FCC over claims it did not "take adequate steps to eliminate security flaws" that eventually put millions of smartphone owner's data at risk of being stolen.
The FCC had claimed that HTC built millions of phones with security flaws that allowed for third-party applications to "evade Android's permission-based security model."
Android, which will always give users notice if data is being revealed to third parties, was prevented from doing so by the flaws built into the HTC smartphones.
As part of the settlement, HTC America will need to patch all existing software holes and create a new "comprehensive security program." For its part, HTC says the majority of its devices have already had the issues addressed. "We're working to roll out the remaining software updates now and recommend customers download them once available," said a spokesman, via Reuters.
Android, which will always give users notice if data is being revealed to third parties, was prevented from doing so by the flaws built into the HTC smartphones.
As part of the settlement, HTC America will need to patch all existing software holes and create a new "comprehensive security program." For its part, HTC says the majority of its devices have already had the issues addressed. "We're working to roll out the remaining software updates now and recommend customers download them once available," said a spokesman, via Reuters.
