Update: As pointed out by our readers, Samsung offers a toggle for turning off the 2G network in some countries. You can check it out in the screenshot below. However, this feature isn't available in most regions.Summarize in one-click with Galaxy AI
The original story follows…
Google has just published an article on the Google Security Blog. It highlights the lack of a feature in Samsung’s smartphones and tablets that could expose people to privacy and security attacks leading them to fall for fraud and scams.
Criminals can use unsafe 2G network to attack Android devices
In the blog post, Google explains that fraudsters or scamsters can use cell-site simulators, also known as False Base Stations (FBS) or Stingrays, which are radio devices, to create their own 4G and 5G networks. They can then customize those to make them appear as networks provided by well-established carriers.
At this point, mobile phones nearby might start connecting to these fake networks as they might not be able to differentiate between a fake and a real one. Once that happens, criminals force these devices to connect to a 2G network created by them.
Now, the 2G network lacks many crucial security measures that 4G and 5G networks offer. Leveraging the lack of those security features, criminals can send an SMS containing spam to those devices, which could lead their owners to fall for frauds and scams, as well as surveil them and intercept their communications.
Google says turning off 2G network protects you from those attacks
To safeguard from these privacy and security attacks, Google asks people to turn off the 2G network on their Android devices. According to the company, Android has been offering people the option to turn off the 2G network since Android 12.
Unfortunately, Samsung’s phones and tablets don’t offer an option to turn off just 2G network and keep other networks (3G, 4G, and 5G) working, even though Android has been offering it for more than two years. Samsung's devices provide only the network modes that you see in the screenshot below.
This exposes Galaxy phone and tablet owners to scams and fraud through the attacks mentioned above. We hope that Samsung is taking note of this and offers a software update to all Galaxy devices that adds the ability to turn off just the 2G network.
Additional screenshot: Angel Castro Lagunes
