Vulnerabilities in first responder apps discovered in the USA

The US Department of Homeland Security's Science and Technology Directorate tested mobile apps used by country's emergency services. Calling for emergency assistance using an app is extremely common in the United States; however, these apps' security hasn’t previously received enough attention, which is what the results of the testing have proved. Serious vulnerabilities were discovered in 32 out of 33 tested apps for iOS and Android, 18 of them are considered critical.

In particular, it has been revealed that apps get unauthorized access to device's camera and contact list as well as a possibility to send SMS messages. Some apps use predefined logins and passwords, which are impossible to change. Hackers can easily use all of these functions for their own interests. Developers were quickly notified about the vulnerabilities. They, however, were not willing to rush: at the moment only 14 out of 32 vulnerable apps have been updated.