Three UK Suffer Major Data Breach – 6 Million Customers At Risk

Major UK carrier Three which is responsible for 37% of all UK Mobile data has admitted Thursday evening that their customer database was breached using an employee's login. Up to six million of the company's nine million customers could be at risk and that the data accessed included names, phone numbers, addresses and dates of birth, they also stated that no financial information was accessed.

A spokesman for Three told The Telegraph:

"Over the last four weeks Three has seen an increasing level of attempted handset fraud. This has been visible through higher levels of burglaries of retail stores and attempts to unlawfully intercept upgrade devices. We've been working closely with the Police and relevant authorities. To date, we have confirmed approximately 400 high value handsets have been stolen through burglaries and eight devices have been illegally obtained through the upgrade activity. The investigation is ongoing and we have taken a number of steps to further strengthen our controls. In order to commit this type of upgrade handset fraud, the perpetrators used authorised logins to Three's upgrade system. This upgrade system does not include any customer payment, card information or bank account information."

The company has since said that it has strengthened data security and will be contacting the eight victims of handset fraud. The National Crime Agency has reported that a 35 year old male from Manchester has been arrested on suspicion of attempting to pervert the course of justice, while a 48 year old male from Kent and a 39 year old male from Manchester have been arrested under suspicion of computer misuse offences. All three have since been released on bail pending further investigation.

Any customers that are concerned about their account or data can contact Three by calling 333 from a Three mobile or on 0333 338 1001 from any other phone to enquire if their details were accessed. All customers should pay particular attention to potential phishing attacks, as stolen details can be used to make it appear as though an email or phone call is from a business such as a bank that you would normally trust. It is also advisable to change the online password for your Three account and any other website or service that uses the same password.

The legal repercussions of this breach are still unclear however, it is possible that the Information Commissioner's Office will give Three a fine of up to £500,000. The largest fine issued by the ICO so far has been £400,000 to ISP TalkTalk after a data breach affecting 157,000 customers.

This article will continue to be updated as we learn more

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Vernee Releases Complete Source Code for MediaTek X20-based Apollo Lite

If the name Vernee sounds unfamiliar to you, you are not alone. After all, when you compare this small time Chinese OEM to the industry giants like Samsung, HTC or LG, it stands no chance when you pull up the numbers.

However, there is one interesting thing that sets this OEM apart from the sea of similar Chinese smartphone OEMs and some of the industry giants.

Vernee's current smartphone lineup is spearheaded by their flagship, the Vernee Apollo and its slightly lesser spec'ed sibling, the Vernee Apollo Lite. While the Apollo runs on the MediaTek Helio X25 6797T SoC, the Apollo Lite runs on the MediaTek Helio X20 6797 SoC. The difference between these two SoC's is primarily the maximum frequency limits on the CPU and the GPU. Our point of focus for this article will be the lesser sibling, the Vernee Apollo Lite with its Helio X20 SoC.

In its attempt to differentiate itself, Vernee has taken the offbeat path of appealing to a demographic that often drives phone purchases, but does not form a very significantly large number: enthusiasts and developers….

And they are doing so by releasing the entire source code of the Vernee Apollo Lite, including several proprietary elements. Yup, you read that right.

Of course, you don't have to take my word for it. You can view the announcement post and download the source code from Vernee's forums, but be advised that it is not desktop-friendly and you will have to use a mobile browser for visiting that link. We are attaching screenshots of the forum post for convenience.

Since the downloads are hosted on Chinese servers that are unreliable in terms of speed, users on our forums have created a mirror of the compressed source, as well uploaded the code entirely on GitHub, which will make it easier to browse around without needing to download the full source.

The source code so released by Vernee is complete enough to build a stock ROM for the device. You can find a lot of proprietary MediaTek code inside of it too, making this source drop very crucial for other Helio X20 MT6797 SoC devices. In addition to these, it includes the bootloader code, preloader as well as other proprietary materials like the camera HAL as well.

We are being told that this is not the first time that Vernee has released the entire source code either. XDA Recognized Developer DerTeufel1980, member of Team M.A.D. who have been collectively responsible for bringing fully functional Android 7.0 to MediaTek devices previously, also commented that Vernee did the same for one of its mid-spec device, the Vernee Thor as well. Such a source drop had helped them to update proprietary RIL and camera libs and build fully functional Android 7.1 ROMs before most Qualcomm devices could get their Alpha builds.

So where does this leave Vernee and the Apollo Lite? Since this is a lesser-known brand, it has not seen a lot of developer interest out of sheer lack of information and brand awareness. Nonetheless, users of the device tell us of a working TWRP as well as early CM13 builds being available for the device on other forums. Since the device does not have its own forums here at XDA-Developers yet, users and developers of the Vernee Apollo Lite have gathered around in this thread.

After all of this, one might ask: what is the catch? And very surprisingly, there is none we can spot immediately. You get a decently spec'ed device: 5.5″ FHD display, Deca-Core MediaTek Helio X20 MT6797 SoC with tri-cluster setup, 4GB of LPDDR3 RAM, 32GB of internal storage with micro-sd expandability, a 16MP rear camera with f/2.0 from Samsung, a 3,180 mAh non-removable battery with USB Type-C and MediaTek's Pump Express 3.0 fast charging standard.

All of this comes with Android 6.0 pre-installed, and for a price tag of $229 (plus Vernee keeps giving out deals, so you can snag one for lesser), there is nothing in here that one could immediately complain about. Yes, cheap Chinese smartphones have a bad reputation for being unreliable after a few months of use, but my personal experience with other Chinese brands has improved my general perception on their usability and hardware capabilities.

This developer-friendly attitude from an unknown brand faintly reminds us of a similar spontaneous incidents, some of which ended in profound disappointment. OEMs can make promises of being developer-friendly any day, but in the end, it's actions that count — and whether it's a fad or a way of doing business.

What are your thoughts on Vernee releasing the source code for the Apollo Lite? Let us know in the comments below!

Big thanks to all our forums members in the Vernee thread for the tip.

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Android 7.0 for the HTC 10 is Rumored to be Stable, Update Coming Soon

As we finish up 2016, OEMs are just about ready to begin rolling out their official Android 7.0 updates. So far, we've seen OEMs like Samsung, LG, Huawei/Honor, and Xiaomi start to beta test Nougat on their flagship devices. Thus far, we haven't yet heard much about HTC's upcoming 7.0 update for their flagships, but the company has assured they are hard at work bringing the latest update to their customers. Thanks to a new batch of leaks, however, we now have a much better glimpse at the impending Nougat update for the HTC 10.

Fans of HTC devices are probably familiar with @LlabTooFeR, who is perhaps the most prolific source of leaks regarding upcoming HTC hardware and software. He's also a Recognized Contributor here on XDA for his work on the MaximusHD custom ROM, available for many HTC smartphones.  LlabTooFer has been posting extensively this week regarding the upcoming Android 7.0 Nougat update for the HTC 10 over on his Twitter account, and he's revealed some interesting details about the unreleased update from the Taiwanese handset maker.

First of all, a new tweet from yesterday states that the Android 7.0 update for the European HTC 10 is currently stable. That's not to say the update will be released anytime soon – but it is indeed a major milestone in the progression of the software update. What this does mean for HTC 10 users is that the Nougat base is essentially ready and what's left is to add any finishing touches, such as additional features, to the HTC Sense UX. Finally, after some internal Q&A, the update would then presumably reach carriers who would determine the official roll-out schedule for their customers.

On HTC's end, though, we have some idea of when they plan on finishing up their internal review process for the Nougat update. LlabTooFeR posted on Twitter about HTC's current schedule for the Android 7.0 update for the European HTC 10. HTC is currently aiming for a release window between the end of November and the start of December, assuming there aren't any major delays. Those dates are rapidly approaching, so if everything goes smoothly, we could see the Nougat update from HTC within the next few weeks.

LlabTooFeR also shared some additional goodies regarding the impending update, in the form of screenshots showcasing Nougat on the HTC 10.

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Source: @LlabTooFeR

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Best Xposed Mods for the Honor 8

We recently released videos about how to unlock the bootloader on the Honor 8, as well as how to root and install xposed framework. If you missed those videos, you should check them out here.

How to Root Honor 8 and Install TWRP and Xposed 

How to Unlock Bootloader on Honor 8 

Today's video is going to be highlighting some of the awesome xposed modules that we have found to work on the Honor 8. Before messing around with xposed mods, make sure you have a full backup in TWRP. We have found that some of the xposed mods can cause crashes and bootloops, so proceed with caution.

Continue to follow the latest development news for the Honor 8 over at the XDA forums.

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CM14.1 Nightly Builds Available for the OnePlus One, Nexus 7 2013, Mi 5 and More

The folks behind CyanogenMod started work on CM14 back in August of this year. We knew we wouldn't see anything immediately made official, but it was nice to know the developer community had begun work on the next version of CyanogenMod. So many custom ROMs are based on CM directly or indirectly, so this might as well be the start of Android 7.0 Nougat coming to smartphones and tablets that had already disbanded by the OEM.

We've seen many unofficial builds released for a number of different devices, but the first official nightlies of CM14.1 were launched a little more than a week ago. These nightlies were made available for devices like the Nexus 6P, Nexus 5X, LG G3 and more, but we were told to not expect every typical CyanogenMod feature included in these early builds. They didn't go into detail about every feature that was missing, but they did say that the CyanogenMod Theme Engine would not be included in the first set of nightly builds.

As time goes on, we're going to see more devices added to the CM14.1 build list, and that's what has been happening this week. Official nightly builds of CM14.1 have been made available for the Xiaomi Mi 5 (gemini), OnePlus One (bacon), OnePlus 2 (oneplus2), 2013 WiFi Nexus 7 (flo), 2013 Cellular Nexus 7 (deb), 2015 Moto G (osprey), Sony Xperia SP (huashan), Sony Xperia T (mint), Sony Xperia TX (hayabusa), and the Sony Xperia V (tsubasa).

The Nook Tablet (acclaim) will also be receiving official CM14.1 nightly builds, but they aren't up yet. The Nexus 6 (shamu) is also up on this list, but there must be something wrong with the build because it downloads as zero MB in size instead of 500.27 MB like it's listed on the website. This will likely get fixed soon, and they will start building CM14.1 for more devices too so be sure to keep your eye out and let us know when new builds are up.

Source: CyanogenMod Story Via: Android Police

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OnePlus Discontinues Sales of the OnePlus 3 in the US and Europe

Earlier this week we saw the official introduction of the OnePlus 3T. OnePlus has decided to release a new phone with improved specs that will likely help keep sales alive until the launch of the OnePlus 4. The OnePlus 3T has a larger battery capacity, an improved front-facing camera (at 16MP), the option for 128GB of internal storage, the Snapdragon 821 SoC from Qualcomm and even some sapphire glass protecting the rear camera.

For anyone who has waited until the holiday season to purchase a new smartphone, the new OnePlus 3T is easily among the best available. Leading up to the launch of the OnePlus 3T, many noticed that the original OnePlus 3 was out of stock on OnePlus' website. Some were hoping that this would be a temporary thing, and that the company would eventually offer both the OnePlus 3 and the OnePlus 3T at the same time.

Android Authority reached out to OnePlus to confirm again if this was the case, and they received some bad news. Depending on where you live, it's been confirmed that the OnePlus 3 will no longer be available for sale again. OnePlus told Android Authority that they would be discontinuing sales in both the United States as well as European market. They were also told that OnePlus didn't have any future plans to bring it back for these specific reasons.

We did report on the OnePlus 3 being discontinued in our own exclusive article. The OnePlus 3 had reached its end of life in terms of official availability. It is good to get more confirmation on the regions immediately affected by this move.

Interestingly enough, they didn't specify any other countries. So the OnePlus 3 could still be made available in countries like India and China. We're also seeing a healthy resale market for the OnePlus 3 over on Swappa right now. The last one was sold in October and went for just over $400. So if you currently own the OnePlus 3, you could put it up for sale on Swappa and use those funds to buy a newer OnePlus 3T device.

Source: Android Authority

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Qualcomm Announces Quick Charge 4.0 Technology

At an event in New York, Qualcomm has taken the wraps off of its latest advancement in charging technology: Quick Charge 4.0. Building upon the success of preceding Quick Charge technologies, Quick Charge 4.0 promises to deliver even faster charge times and greater efficiency levels, so that mobile consumers spend less time hugging the wall.

Qualcomm found that three of the top four concerns for people when looking for a new smartphone were related to either battery capacity or battery charging speed, and they are aiming to utilize Quick Charge 4.0 to continue improving their strong market position, with over 150 companies supporting Quick Charge, by helping assuage those fears.

Quick Charge 4.0 claims to extend smartphone use for flagship smartphones with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chip by 5 hours with only 5 minutes of charging, going "5 for 5" according to Qualcomm. With just 15 minutes of charging time, a 2,750 mAh battery is expected to be able to go from 0% to 50% charge.

Qualcomm is once again improving their Dual Charge parallel charging technology (now called "Dual Charge++") to provide up to 20% faster charging and 30% higher efficiency at up to 5 degrees celsius cooler temperatures compared to Quick Charge 3.0, which itself featured improvements over the predecessor technologies.

Quick Charge 4.0 also features the third release of Qualcomm's INOV (Intelligent Negotiation for Optimum Voltage) power management algorithm. This release of INOV includes real-time thermal management, which Qualcomm says is a technology industry first. INOV 3.0 focuses on optimization by determining and selecting optimal power transfer level for the thermal conditions present.

A major point of focus for Quick Charge 4.0 has been on improving the safety and protection features, with multiple additional layers of protection added to help prevent battery over-charging. Quick Charge 4.0 keeps many of the existing features such as the 3 layers of over-voltage protection, 3 layers of over-current protection, and 4 layers  of over-temp protection, and supplements them with new features such as the ability to detect the quality and condition of the cable being used.

One of the most important changes though is the addition of compatibility with USB Power Delivery (USB PD), which could not have come at a better time, following closely on the heels of Google "strongly recommend[ing]" that devices only support charging methods that are compatible with USB PD in the new Android 7.0 Compatibility Document (with a little hint that Google "might REQUIRE all type-C devices to support full interoperability with standard type-C chargers" in the future).

For the best QC 4.0 performance, Qualcomm is also introducing two new power management ICs, the SMB1380 and SMB1381. These PMIC are engineered for low impedance, with up to 95% peak efficiency, and support for advanced features like battery differential sensing. The SMB3180/1 will be made available by the end of 2016.

Qualcomm's Quick Charge 4.0 fast charging technology will be available in the next generation of Qualcomm Snapdragon processors, starting with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835. The Snapdragon 835 is expected to ship in commercial devices beginning in the first half of 2017.

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What are your thoughts on Qualcomm's Quick Charge 4.0? Let us know in the comments below!

 

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