We’ve seen several manufacturers place a focus on security updates latest, with the likes of Google, BlackBerry, Samsung, and others all committing to pushing regular security updates to their phones. Now the FCC and FTC are turning their attention to security updates, too.
The FCC and FTC today announced that they’re teaming up to examine how mobile security patches are pushed to devices. The FCC has sent a letter to the carriers to learn more about how they review and release security updates for their devices, while the FTC has reached out to Apple, BlackBerry, Google, HTC, LG, Microsoft, Motorola, and Samsung to ask for information relating to:
- How those manufacturers decide whether to patch a vulnerability on a certain device.
- Detailed data on the devices that they’ve sold since August 2013
- The vulnerabilities that have affected those devices
- Whether and when those vulnerabilities were patched
You can read the letter that the FCC sent to US mobile carriers right here. The FCC has asked that the carriers respond within 45 days of receiving their letter.
For many folks, smartphones have become an integral part of their daily lives, serving as their main computer that they use to keep in touch with loved ones, keep up with news, get entertainment, capture photos and videos, and so on. Because these pocket computers are so important and store personal data, it’s crucial that they’re secure, which is why it’s been good to see device makers commit to regular security updates. Sometimes these updates can be delayed in rolling out to some models, though, and the FCC and FTC want to find out why that is.