Android Platform Security

Android is a major platform in the mobile operating systems area, leading globally with an 81.7 percent market share. One of the major reason of its popularity is that it is an open source OS. CIMACS members undertaking projects in android platform security are trying to improve the anti-theft techniques for the android platform. Multiple solutions are being investigated in parallel. One of the preliminary works has culminated in an application (Stolocator) that aims to safeguard the android device and help in recovery.

Stolocator runs as a background service is triggered by a theft identification mechanism built around three different device features. On activation, the service intimates the original user about the location of the device, any updates to user information as well as taking snapshots from the front-end camera (if available) to the original user. Bug testing and improvements to the application logic are still underway.