Google is preparing to launch a brand new system to assist address the issue of malware on Android. Its recent live threat detection service leverages Google Play Protect’s on-device AI to investigate apps for malicious behavior. The service, announced following the Google I/O developer event on Tuesday, examines various signals related to an app’s use of sensitive permissions and interactions with other apps and services, the corporate explains.
If it finds suspicious behavior, Google Play Protect will have the option to send the app to Google for extra review in addition to warn any users who’ve the app installed, and even disable the app, if warranted.
The detection also takes advantage of Google’s Private Compute Core, the Android privacy infrastructure introduced in 2022 that gives an isolated data processing environment inside the Android operating system. The thought of the Private Compute Core, or PCC, is to provide users control over if, how, or when their data is shared. By utilizing the PCC, the brand new live threat detection feature can protect users without collecting their data.
Google says it’s going to deploy the system later this yr on Google Pixel devices. Other manufacturers will join it, including Oppo, Honor, Lenovo, OnePlus, Nothing, Transsion, Sharp, and more.
The service could help Android users feel more comfortable downloading and using apps from Google Play — although arguably, they’d relatively not have downloaded malware in the primary place. Somewhat, they’d like malicious apps to be caught during app review. That’s a spotlight area for Apple, which often touts the advantage of its App Store to consumers and developers. Though bad actors often slip through its cracks, it weeds out many more through its more intensive review system before allowing them to go survive the App Store. Ahead of I/O, Apple announced it had stopped $1.8 billion in fraud on the App Store, for instance.
Along with the live threat detection service, Google announced it’s going to hide one-time passwords from notifications to chop down on a standard attack vector for fraud and spyware. It’s going to also expand Android 13’s restricted settings, which is able to now require additional user approval to enable app permissions once they sideload apps onto their device.
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