Samsung smartphones threatened by data-wiping vulnerability

A new vulnerability has emerged that can instantly wipe the data stored on some Samsung smartphones that use the TouchWiz UI.

The Verge reports that the seemingly innocuous HTML code has been shown to affect both the Samsung Galaxy S Advance, Galaxy S II and at least some network variants of the Galaxy S III.

Some models will require a user prompt (that obviously can be denied) to confirm the data wipe whilst others will simply proceed without any intervention from the user.

The problem is not thought to stem from Google’s Android code but instead from Samsung’s own TouchWiz user interface that sits on top of the firmware.

Samsung has said it is looking into” the reports.