Security Blog
The latest news and insights from Google on security and safety on the Internet
Google and Android have your back by protecting your backups
12 October 2018
Posted by Troy Kensinger, Technical Program Manager, Android Security and Privacy
Android is all about choice. As such, Android strives to provide users many options to protect their data. By combining
Android’s Backup Service
and
Google Cloud’s Titan Technology
, Android has taken additional steps to securing users' data while maintaining their privacy.
Starting in Android Pie, devices can take advantage of a new capability where backed-up application data can only be decrypted by a key that is randomly generated at the client. This decryption key is encrypted using the user's lockscreen PIN/pattern/passcode, which isn’t known by Google. Then, this passcode-protected key material is encrypted to a
Titan security chip
on our datacenter floor. The Titan chip is configured to only release the backup decryption key when presented with a correct claim derived from the user's passcode. Because the Titan chip must authorize every access to the decryption key, it can permanently block access after too many incorrect attempts at guessing the user’s passcode, thus mitigating brute force attacks. The limited number of incorrect attempts is strictly enforced by a custom Titan firmware that cannot be updated without erasing the contents of the chip. By design, this means that no one (including Google) can access a user's backed-up application data without specifically knowing their passcode.
To increase our confidence that this new technology securely prevents anyone from accessing users' backed-up application data, the Android Security & Privacy team hired global cyber security and risk mitigation expert NCC Group to complete a security audit. Some of the outcomes included positives around Google’s security design processes, validation of code quality, and that mitigations for known attack vectors were already taken into account prior to launching the service. While there were some issues discovered during this audit, engineers corrected them quickly. For more details on how the end-to-end service works and a detailed report of
NCC Group’s
findings, click
here
.
Getting external reviews of our security efforts is one of many ways that Google and Android maintain transparency and openness which in turn helps users feel safe when it comes to their data. Whether it’s 100s of hours of gaming data or your personalized preferences in your favorite Google apps, our users' information is protected.
We want to acknowledge contributions from Shabsi Walfish, Software Engineering Lead, Identity and Authentication to this effort
No comments :
Post a Comment
Labels
#sharethemicincyber
#supplychain #security #opensource
android
android security
android tr
app security
big data
biometrics
blackhat
C++
chrome
chrome enterprise
chrome security
connected devices
CTF
diversity
encryption
federated learning
fuzzing
Gboard
google play
google play protect
hacking
interoperability
iot security
kubernetes
linux kernel
memory safety
Open Source
pha family highlights
pixel
privacy
private compute core
Rowhammer
rust
Security
security rewards program
sigstore
spyware
supply chain
targeted spyware
tensor
Titan M2
VDP
vulnerabilities
workshop
Archive
2024
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sept
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2023
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sept
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2022
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sept
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2021
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sept
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2020
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sept
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2019
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sept
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2018
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sept
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2017
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sept
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2016
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sept
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2015
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sept
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2014
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sept
Aug
Jul
Jun
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2013
Dec
Nov
Oct
Aug
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2012
Dec
Sept
Aug
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2011
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sept
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
2010
Nov
Oct
Sept
Aug
Jul
May
Apr
Mar
2009
Nov
Oct
Aug
Jul
Jun
Mar
2008
Dec
Nov
Oct
Aug
Jul
May
Feb
2007
Nov
Oct
Sept
Jul
Jun
May
Feed
Follow @google
Follow
Give us feedback in our
Product Forums
.
Follow
No comments :
Post a Comment