Google Won't Fix Android Security Flaw Affecting 60% Of Users, Security Chief Says

Google won't fix security flaws affecting about 60 percent of all Android users -- those who use Android 4.3 and earlier systems -- said Google Chief of Security for Android Adrian Ludwig. Google decided updating outdated browser versions was requiring hundreds of developers to write more than 5 million lines of code every month for just one browser, and in some cases “significant portions of the code” were changed, so it was no longer practical to make these changes. “Keeping software up to date is one of the greatest challenges in security,” Ludwig said in a Google Plus post, but a necessary one since using an “updatable browser will protect you from currently known security issues, and since it can be updated in the future it will also protect you against any issues that might be found in the future.” Google's decision is “is great news for criminals,” wrote Tod Beardsley, a software developer and blogger. “As a software developer, I know that supporting old versions of my software is a huge hassle,” he said. “I empathize with their decision to cut legacy software loose. However, a billion people don't rely on old versions of my software to manage and safeguard the most personal details of their lives. In that light, I'm hoping Google reconsiders if (when) the next privacy-busting vulnerability becomes public knowledge.”