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Android: Not So Open After All?

Earlier this week, hackers found a way to gain root access to the Android operating system of the HTC G1. Root access allows users to install unauthorized applications. Google caught wind of it, and pulled a move eerily similar to what Apple has done in the past with the iPhone. Google issued an over-the-air firmware update that buttoned Android back up.

Google's actions in this case appear to fly in the face of what Android is all about. Android is open source. It is available to anyone who chooses to download it. Doesn't that mean tinkering with the code is welcome, nay, expected?

It turns out, it isn't. Google said in a statement, "We've been notified of this issue (Jailbreaking of Android) and have developed a fix. We're currently working with our partners to push the fix out and updating the open source code base to reflect these changes."

Gizmodo likens the jailbreaking of Android more to "finding the administrative password on a desktop Linux system" and also claims that "it also exposed a gaping vulnerability that would be immediately shut on any other Linux distribution."

That's a fair characterization, I suppose.

Google has figured out how to fix the problem, and already has begun issuing the over-the-air firmware update, which is called RC30. The update closes the security gap and prevents root access via the telnet hack.

This firmware update is different from those issued by Apple for the iPhone, which needed to be manually installed by the end user. It occurs automatically, without approval of or action by the end user. In other words, if you were thinking of skipping the firmware update, you can't.

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