The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is doing an inquiry into how gadget manufacturers and mobile carriers are getting security patches to their users. These updates protect the phones from malicious hacking and data theft, and the FCC is anxious to know just how fast the updates are getting to the consumers, and if the older models even get updated.
Manufacturers Apple, Google, as well as BlackBerry, HTC America, LG Electronics USA, Microsoft Corp., Motorola Mobility LLC and Samsung Electronics America were all part of the inquiry made by the FCC. “We are concerned” that “there are significant delays in delivering patches to actual devices – and that older devices may never be patched,” the FCC said in a sample of the letters sent to companies that the agency posted on its website.
All major US carriers were also recipients of inquiry, including AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile Inc. – and the lesser known carriers like U.S. Cellular Corp. and TracFone Wireless Inc. The FCC has ordered these companies to explain the process for issuing security updates.
Also, these companies are to list down the models of mobile devices they have made available in the US since August 2013, the vulnerabilities associated with said phones, and whether they’ve offered patches for these vulnerabilities. All in all, this could be an inquiry that generates a tremendous amount of data, judging from the number of models released in that 3-year span.
VIA: Bloomberg
