Android is based on an open-source code that can be modified by anyone, for example, most OEMs put custom skins on top of it to make it look as they want and add some functions to enhance the software experience. There are also a bunch of developers who create different launchers that make the operating system look and work very differently from what Google imagined for its OS and users get to choose the one they like the most. For the most advanced users, by rooting their devices, they could change virtually anything to make it more personal, from fonts to the animations and everything in between. Of course, this ability to modify it has a bad side, not everyone is well-intentioned and they can create malicious software to access personal data or remotely control some of the functions of the mobile device. Recently, the Stagefright vulnerability attracted a bunch of headlines as it could affect a lot of devices.
Samsung was one of the first OEMs that released a patch to protect their devices from this threat and now they are showing some more commitment to making their devices as secure as they could be. Since software is modified constantly, new threats will keep appearing, so Samsung is planning to address this issues as fast as they can with this new process. The plan includes security-related updates released once a month and the company is talking to the carriers and other partners to make this happen.
Security is very important in current mobile devices as we get to store a lot of personal information in them, and while passwords and biometrics could help in case the device gets lost or stolen, hackers could still intrude in it without the proper software. Perhaps more OEMs should follow with similar strategies as they only update their devices when Google releases some changes to the OS and they take some time while doing that. In the meantime, users should take the appropriate precautions when visiting some sites that could not be as trustworthy or installing apps from non-official sources, as they could include some undesired files.