Android Bouncer Flexes Muscles

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Until very recently Google took a relaxed (some would say complacent) approach to app screening and security in the Android Market. In December, Google pulled a small number of apps from the marketplace, for example for misleading consumers via effectively ‘hidden’ charges, details of which were tucked away deep in the inner screens of apps.

Now Google is launching a new security feature to counteract rogue apps.The new seervice is named Bouncer, and it works by scanning each and every Android Market app for known security threats. The service also examines the workflow of apps to sniff out suspicious behavior, such as that exhibited by apps already thrown out of Google’s Android market app store.

Like standard PC firewall and antivirus software, Bouncer is trained to recognize spyware, malware, trojans, and various other malicious traits in software. Certain apps will be turned away at the hallowed ortals of the Android Market, whereas others are flagged to be reviewed by living, breathing human beings.

The Android platform has recently attracted criticism for alleged substandard security, cited as a main sticking point for uptake in the corporate sector, but Google’s leader of mobile technology defended the platform before Christmas as inherently stable, thanks in large part to the way it sandboxes application processes.

Google assures its rapidly-expanding client base that whenever their security mechanisms uncover a new type of threat, the entire app catalog will be rescaned for signs of that particular exploit. Bouncer will also closely monitor subsequent submissions to the Android Market by developers with a history of submitting unsafe apps, and will ban repeat offenders to prevent unsuspecting users being exposed to security threats. Google claims Bouncer has been in action for several months now, and has led to a 40% reduction in the potentially malicious downloads from the Market as a result. Good to see Google is taking Android security seriously.

Techspot

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