Juniper Networks study reveals how dangerous Android is to our privacy

Search This thread

pilau

Member
Jan 22, 2013
48
3
Okay, so, I summed up some 5 articles on this subject - in the hope of starting a discussion about device security. I hope you will find this interesting and meaningful and perhaps you will find out about some of the risks of using Android.

2 months ago Juniper Networks, one of the two biggest network equipment manufactures, published a blog post (1) about an intensive research their mobile threat department had on the Android market place.

In essence they analyzed over 1.7 million apps in Google Play, revealing frightening results and prompting a hard reality check for all of us.

One of the worrying findings is that a significant number of applications contain capabilities that could expose sensitive information to 3rd parties. For example, neither Apple nor Google requires apps to ask permission to access some forms of the device ID, or to send it to outsiders. A Wall Street Journal examination (2) of 101 popular Android (and iPhone) apps found that showed that 56 — that's half — of the apps tested transmitted the phone's unique device ID to other companies without users' awareness or consent. 47 apps — again, almost a half — transmitted the phone's location to other companies.

That means that the apps installed in your phone are 50% likely to clandestinely collect and sell information about you without your knowledge nor your consent. For example when you give permission to an app to see your location, most apps don't disclose if they will pass the location to ad companies.

Moving on to more severe Android vulnerabilities. Many applications perform functions not needed for the apps to work — and they do it under the radar! The lack of transparency about who is collecting information and how it is used is a big problem for us.

Juniper warns, that some apps request permission to clandestinely initiate outgoing calls, send SMS messages and use a device camera. An application that can clandestinely initiate a phone call could be used to silently listen to ambient conversations within hearing distance of a mobile device. I am of course talking about the famous and infamous US Navy PlaceRaider (3).

Thankfully the Navy hasn't released this code but who knows if someone hadn't already jumped on the wagon and started making their own pocket sp?. CIO magazine (4) somewhat reassures us though, that the "highly curated nature of [smartphone] application stores makes it far less likely that such an app would "sneak through" and be available for download."

A summary by The Register (5) of the Juniper Networks audit reads that Juniper discovered that free applications are five times more likely to track user location and a whopping 314 percent more likely to access user address books than paid counterparts. 314%!!!

1 in 40 (2.64%) of free apps request permission to send text messages without notifying users, 5.53 per cent of free apps have permission to access the device camera and 6.4 per cent of free apps have permission to clandestinely initiate background calls. Who knows, someone might just be recording you right now, or submitting your photo to some covert database in Czech Republic — without you even knowing that your personal identity is being compromised.

Google, by the way, is the biggest data recipient — so says The Wall Street Journal. Its AdMob, AdSense, Analytics and DoubleClick units collected data from 40% of the apps they audited. Google's main mobile-ad network is AdMob, which lets advertisers target phone users by location, type of device and "demographic data," including gender or age group.

To quote the The Register on the subjec, the issue of mobile app privacy is not new. However Juniper's research is one of the most comprehensive looks at the state of privacy across the entire Google Android application ecosystem. Don't get me wrong. I love using Google's services and I appreciate the positive effect this company has had over how I live my life. However, with a shady reputation like Google's and with it's troubling attitude towards privacy (Google Maps/Earth, Picasa's nonexistent privacy and the list goes on) I sincerely hope that after reading this you will at least think twice before installing any app.

Links: (please excuse my links I'm a new user and cannot post links)
(1) forums.juniper net/t5/Security-Mobility-Now/Exposing-Your-Personal-Information-There-s-An-App-for-That/ba-p/166058
(2) online.wsj com/article/SB10001424052748704694004576020083703574602.html
(3) technologyreview com/view/509116/best-of-2012-placeraider-the-military-smartphone-malware-designed-to-steal-your-life/
(4) cio com/article/718580/PlaceRaider_Shows_Why_Android_Phones_Are_a_Major_Security_Risk?page=2&taxonomyId=3067
(5) theregister co.uk/2012/11/01/android_app_privacy_audit/

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Now I am proposing a discussion. Starting with - do we have the possibility to monitor device activity on the phone? By monitoring device activity, such as outgoing SMSs and phone calls in the background, the camera functions and so on we can tell if our phone is being abused under the radar and against our consent. What do you think?




.
 
Last edited:

pilau

Member
Jan 22, 2013
48
3
I am finding it sad and troubling but even more so ironic that nobody here cares about this stuff.
 
Last edited:

pilau

Member
Jan 22, 2013
48
3
Sounds good for a start, I'll look it up

Okay, so I looked it up, and Pdroid does look like a fantastic solution to control what apps have access to what information on your droid.

However, it doesn't cover monitoring hardware functions such as texts being sent, calls being placed etc. as described in the OP. Besides, it only works in Gingerbread as far as I could gather.

EDIT: looking at PDroid 2.0, it does exactly what I originally asked :)
 
Last edited:

DontPushButtons

Senior Member
Apr 22, 2012
1,500
935
Pittsburg
Google Pixel 6 Pro
Okay, so I looked it up, and Pdroid does look like a fantastic solution a control what apps have access to what information on you droid.

However, it doesn't cover monitoring hardware functions such as texts being sent, calls being placed etc. as described in the OP. Besides, it only works in Gingerbread as far as I could gather.

I actually first found out about it on an ics rom, so it's definitely not just gb. As for monitoring, no clue. Any sort of extra process logging would likely bog down resources or space eventually.

Sent from my ADR6425LVW using Tapatalk 2
 

pilau

Member
Jan 22, 2013
48
3
Any sort of extra process logging would likely bog down resources or space eventually.

I definitely wouldn't know. This solution looks very complicated in first impression but on the Google play page it says 100% no performance effects.

Anyway, I looked up PDroid 2.0 here on XDA, which is the rightful successor of the original app. It does everything the original app does and also monitors many device activities! Here is the full list of features. I would add a working link but I'm still a n00b and I am restricted from doing so. Sigh....

xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1923576

PDroid 2.0 allows blocking access for any installed application to the following data separately:

Device ID (IMEI/MEID/ESN)
Subscriber ID (IMSI)
SIM serial (ICCID)
Phone and mailbox number
Incoming call number
Outgoing call number
GPS location
Network location
List of accounts (including your google e-mail address)
Account auth tokens
Contacts
Call logs
Calendar
SMS
MMS
Browser bookmarks and history
System logs
SIM info (operator, country)
Network info (operator, country)
IP Tables(until now only for Java process)
Android ID
Call Phone
Send SMS
Send MMS
Record Audio
Access Camera
Force online state (fake online state to permanent online)
Wifi Info
ICC Access (integrated circuit-card access, for reading/writing sms on ICC)
Switch network state (e.g. mobile network)
Switch Wifi State
Start on Boot (prevents that application gets the INTENT_BOOT_COMPLETE Broadcast)
 

DontPushButtons

Senior Member
Apr 22, 2012
1,500
935
Pittsburg
Google Pixel 6 Pro
I've always had the luxury of someone else integrating it into the Rom, then I just had to set it up through the app. It is time-consuming, but not very difficult at all. I say give it a shot and see if that's what you had in mind. Maybe the logging is less detrimental than I had previously thought.

I'm sure you could get your post count up by asking for some tips in that thread. Every forum on xda has at least one person that's EXCESSIVELY helpful, frequently more. So have a ball :p

Sent from my ADR6425LVW using Tapatalk 2