Android security isn’t exactly rocket science as with computer or information security. It is something that needs careful attention because hackers and malware evolve. It is a fact of life the Android community faces each day but good thing there are many efforts on how to protect the platform, apps, and devices. In 2017, the tech giant launched the Google Play Protect as a new security solution for your Android device.
Google always reminds us of how to keep our Android phones safe. The Play Protect is regularly updated to better secure Android against malicious apps. Attempts to protect have been effective most of the time. Last year, we learned machine learning helped Google prevent the installation of some 60.3% of harmful apps.
Efforts are not futile but Google is doing yet another move to further improve security by introducing the App Defense Alliance. Its goal is to “bring the security industry together to fight bad apps”. The alliance consists of Google, the Android team, and a number of security research groups like Lookout, Zimperium, and ESET. Together, they will fight against bad elements and actors in the Android ecosystem.
Google is grateful to the research partners for helping fight the attackers and protect mobile consumers. The collaboration will target to stop bad mobile apps before they even reach active devices. Bad actors are all around and on whatever platform.
On the App Defense Alliance’s page it reads: Our number one goal as partners is to ensure the safety of the Google Play Store, quickly finding potentially harmful applications and stopping them before they ever make it onto Google Play. The team aims to come up with secure 2-way communication between the partners and the tech giant in sharing threat information with the intention of early detection and mitigation of Potentially Harmful Applications (PHAs).
It is about time the Android community and its partners work harder in the fight against malicious attacks. The results will not always be perfect but the alliance is expecting further protection of the users and devices, identification of new threats, and reduction of the risk of app-based malware.
