HTC Settles Security Issue With The FTC

HTC was slapped by the FTC over a security issue that left users' information vulnerable. This was the result of the company altering the OS on its smartphones and tablets in such a way that the additional features implemented left information open to collection by malicious programs. Just a bit ago, the FTC announced that HTC has settled the matter.

The security vulnerabilities, which are said to leave such information as location and call logs at risk, was discovered in 2011. In response, HTC rolled out patches to correct the problem. Those that have not been fixed, however, will be in the relatively near future, according to a statement from HTC earlier today. This is not the only thing the company has to do as part of the settlement, however.

HTC is also required to set up a "comprehensive security program," which will presumably be in place to prevent such security vulnerabilities from happening again. Likewise, the company is not allowed to make misleading or otherwise false statement in regards to the security it offers, something that seems more or less common sense.

The FTC has been cracking down on the issue of mobile security for a while now, having recently published a manual of guidelines for app developers, providing information on how to deal with security issues. Likewise, last month California issued a report of mobile privacy recommendations, most of which were common sense.

[via Washington Post]