OS / Software

Android Jelly Bean Security Enhancements Now Detailed

Prarthito Maity email: p.maity@mobilenapps.com

Google, it seems, is taking the Android platform security measures pretty seriously since the recent Apple iOS 6.1 lock screen issue, and has now detailed everything as to what the company is currently up to.

Per reports, Google is making use of its Android Developers blog to summarize some of the security enhancements that the company has made in Android 4.2, and this also includes the new 4.2.2 update that was released this week.

Android 4.2, according to the company, now has an advanced number generator, while also introducing some more new secure ways for apps to use Javascript. The security tweak for 4.2 also changes the default way how access is granted to content providers, and this prevents the chances of an unauthorized access in uncertain situations.

"This post highlights a few of the security enhancements in Android 4.2 that are especially important for developers to be aware of and understand. Regardless whether you are targeting your app to devices running Jelly Bean or to earlier versions of Android, it's a good idea to validate these areas in order to make your app more secure and robust," the official page states.

Another very important addition to the Android 4.2 platform is the newest implementation of SecureRandom. The company says that the new default implementation of SecureRandom is based on OpenSSL, and that the switch to the new SecureRandom implementation will be transparent to apps.

However, if the app "is relying on SecureRandom to generate deterministic data, such as keys for encrypting data, you may need to modify this area of your app."

As far as Android 4.2.2 is concerned, the tweak introduces a new way of protecting apps and data on compatible devices with the help of secure USB debugging.

When secure USB debugging is enabled on a device, it will ensure that only host computers authorized by the user can access the internals of a USB-connected device using the ADB tool included in the Android SDK.

"The user can allow USB debugging for the host for a single session or can give automatic access for all future sessions. Once a host is authorized, you can execute ADB commands for the device in the normal way. Until the device is authorized, it remains in 'offline' state, as listed in the ADB devices command," the page adds.

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