Physicians Using Android Smartphones Are Vulnerable to Heartbleed Security Breach, Warn Experts

Millions of smartphones and tablets running Google's Android operating system have the Heartbleed software bug, according to a Bloomberg report.

Nearly 34 percent of Android devices currently use some variation of version 4.1.1 software, and Google announced the devices containing that software have the Heartbleed security bug, according to the report. 

While a fix for the Heartbleed bug was made available last week and quickly implemented by the majority of Internet properties that were vulnerable to the bug, there is no easy solution for infected Android devices, according to the report.

Even though Google has provided a patch for the Android devices infected with Heartbleed, it is up to handset makers and wireless carriers to update the devices, according to the report.

Although the majority of healthcare providers use iPhones for professional purposes, Heartbleed infecting certain Android devices could have a broad impact on the healthcare industry, as 31 percent of healthcare providers use non-Apple smartphones such as Androids, according to a user research poll by Black Book Rankings. 

More Articles on Data Security:

5 Tips For Protecting Patient Information & Responding to Healthcare Data Breaches 
Newly Discovered Memory Bug Allows Encrypted Data to be Stolen
Healthcare Scores Present Growing Privacy Risks, Study Finds 

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