Google releases Pixel update to get rid of surveillance vulnerability

Last month, it was discovered that an inactive piece of software that ships on all Google Pixel smartphones presented a potential security vulnerability for device owners. The company quickly said it would remove “Showcase.apk,” which was created years ago “for Verizon in-store demo devices and is no longer being used.” But on the off chance it were ever exploited, cybersecurity firm iVerify found that the software could make phones “accessible to hackers and ripe for man-in-the-middle attacks, code injection, and spyware.” The flare-up was enough for Palantir to implement a companywide ban on Android devices.

At the time, Google told us that it had “seen no evidence of any active exploitation,” and with today’s release of the monthly...

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