Palo Alto Networks has presented new research, highlighting security risks in the internal storage used by applications on Google Android devices. More than 94 per cent of popular Android applications are potentially vulnerable.
"We encourage users to be aware and Google to take a closer look at this storage weakness in Android. Given Android's place as the world's most popular mobile operating system, millions of users are potentially at risk," said Ryan Olson, Intelligence Director, Unit 42, Palo Alto Networks.
Android Internal Storage is a protected area that Android-based applications use to store private information, including usernames and passwords. But as Palo Alto Networks research reveals, an attacker may be able to steal sensitive information from most of the applications on an Android device using the Android Debug Bridge (ADB) backup/restore function. In addition, most of the security enhancements added by Google to prevent this type of attack can be bypassed.
Palo Alto Networks recommends Android users disable USB debugging when not needed, and application developers to protect Android users by setting android:allowBackup to false in each Android application’s AndroidManifest.xml file or restricting backups from including sensitive information using a BackupAgent.
