A Novel Approach to Trojan Horse Detection in Mobile Phones Messaging and Bluetooth Services

A method to detect Trojan horses in messaging and Bluetooth in mobile phones by means of monitoring the events produced by the infections is presented in this paper. The structure of the detection approach is split into two modules: the first is the Monitoring module which controls connection requests and sent/received files, and the second is the Graphical User module which shows messages and, under suspicious situations, reports the user about a possible malware. Prototypes have been implemented on different mobile operating systems to test its feasibility on real cellphone malware. Experimental results are shown to be promising since this approach effectively detects various known malwareMinisterio de Ciencia e Innovación TIN2009-14378-C02-0

Attacks on the Android Platform

The focus of this research revolves around Android platform security, specifically Android malware attacks and defensive techniques. Android is a mobile operating system developed by Google, based on the Linux kernel and designed primarily for touchscreen mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. With the rise of device mobility in our data-driven world, Android constitutes most of the operating systems on these mobile devices playing a dominant role in today’s world. Hence, this paper analyzes attacks and the various defensive mechanisms that have been proposed to prevent those attacks

Security of Smartphones at the Dawn of their Ubiquitousness

The importance of researching in the field of smartphone security is substantiated in the increasing number of smartphones, which are expected to outnumber common computers in the future. Despite their increasing importance, it is unclear today if mobile malware will play the same role for mobile devices as for common computers today. Therefore, this thesis contributes to defining and structuring the field mobile device security with special concern on smartphones and on the operational side of security, i.e., with mobile malware as the main attacker model. Additionally, it wants to give an understanding of the shifting boundaries of the attack surface in this emerging research field. The first three chapters introduce and structure the research field with the main goal of showing what has to be defended against today. Besides introducing related work they structure mobile device attack vectors with regard to mobile malicious software and they structure the topic of mobile malicious software itself with regard to its portability. The technical contributions of this thesis are in Chapters 5 to 8, classified according to the location of the investigation (on the device, in the network, distributed in device and network). Located in the device is MobileSandbox, a software for dynamic malware analysis. As another device-centric contribution we investigate on the efforts that have to be taken to develop an autonomously spreading smartphone worm. The results of these investigations are used to show that device-centric parts are necessary for smartphone security. Additionally, we propose a novel device-centric security mechanism that aims at reducing the attack surface of mobile devices to mobile malware. The network-centric investigations show the possibilities that a mobile network operator can use in its own mobile network for protecting the mobile devices of its clients. We simulate the effectiveness of different security mechanisms. Finally, the distributed investigations show the feasibility of distributed computation algorithms with security modules. We give prototypic implementations of protocols for secure multiparty computation as a modularized version with failure detector and consensus algorithms, and for fair exchange with guardian angels

Threats and Solutions to Mobile Devices

Mobile devices have now surpassed personal computers (PC) in terms of popularity. Smartphones now come with powerful multi-core processors, loaded with considerable amounts of memory and are capable of carrying out complex operations with relative ease. However, this increase in technology has meant that it has now become susceptible to some of the same problems that PC‘s face. In this paper, I will talk about the malware, virus and other security problems facing mobile devices and their possible solutions

Threats and Solutions to Mobile Devices

Mobile devices have now surpassed personal computers (PC) in terms of popularity. Smartphones now come with powerful multi-core processors, loaded with considerable amounts of memory and are capable of carrying out complex operations with relative ease. However, this increase in technology has meant that it has now become susceptible to some of the same problems that P

Security and Privacy for Ubiquitous Mobile Devices

We live in a world where mobile devices are already ubiquitous. It is estimated that in the United States approximately two thirds of adults own a smartphone, and that for many, these devices are their primary method of accessing the Internet. World wide, it is estimated that in May of 2014 there were 6.9 billion mobile cellular subscriptions, almost as much as the world population. of these 6.9 billion, approximately 1 billion are smart devices, which are concentrated in the developed world. In the developing world, users are moving from feature phones to smart devices as a result of lower prices and marketing efforts. Because smart mobile devices are ubiquitous, security and privacy are primary concerns. Threats such as mobile malware are already substantial, with over 2500 different types identified in 2010 alone. It is likely that, as the smart device market continues to grow, so to will concerns about privacy, security, and malicious software. This is especially true, because these mobile devices are relatively new. Our research focuses on increasing the security and privacy of user data on smart mobile devices. We propose three applications in this domain: (1) a service that provides private, mobile location sharing; (2) a secure, intuitive proximity networking solution; and (3) a potential attack vector in mobile devices, which utilizes novel covert channels. We also propose a first step defense mechanism against these covert channels. Our first project is the design and implementation of a service, which provides users with private and secure location sharing. This is useful for a variety of applications such as online dating, taxi cab services, and social networking. Our service allows users to share their location with one another with trust and location based access controls. We allow users to identify if they are within a certain distance of one another, without either party revealing their location to one another, or any third party. We design this service to be practical and efficient, requiring no changes to the cellular infrastructure and no explicit encryption key management for the users. For our second application, we build a modem, which enables users to share relatively small pieces of information with those that are near by, also known as proximity based networking. Currently there are several mediums which can be used to achieve proximity networking such as NFC, bluetooth, and WiFi direct. Unfortunately, these currently available schemes suffer from a variety of drawbacks including slow adoption by mobile device hardware manufactures, relatively poor usability, and wide range, omni-directional propagation. We propose a new scheme, which utilizes ultrasonic (high frequency) audio on typical smart mobile devices, as a method of communication between proximal devices. Because mobile devices already carry the necessary hardware for ultrasound, adoption is much easier. Additionally, ultrasound has a limited and highly intuitive propagation pattern because it is highly directional, and can be easily controlled using the volume controls on the devices. Our ultrasound modem is fast, achieving several thousand bits per second throughput, non-intrusive because it is inaudible, and secure, requiring attackers with normal hardware to be less than or equal to the distance between the sender and receiver (a few centimeters in our tests). Our third work exposes a novel attack vector utilizing physical media covert channels on smart devices, in conjunction with privilege escalation and confused deputy attacks. This ultimately results in information leakage attacks, which allow the attacker to gain access to sensitive information stored on a user\u27s smart mobile device such as their location, passwords, emails, SMS messages and more. Our attack uses our novel physical media covert channels to launder sensitive information, thereby circumventing state of the art, taint-tracking analysis based defenses and, at the same time, the current, widely deployed permission systems employed by mobile operating systems. We propose and implement a variety of physical media covert channels, which demonstrate different strengths such as high speed, low error rate, and stealth. By proposing several different channels, we make defense of such an attack much more difficult. Despite the challenging situation, in this work we also propose a novel defense technique as a first step towards research on more robust approaches. as a contribution to the field, we present these three systems, which together enrich the smart mobile experience, while providing mobile security and keeping privacy in mind. Our third approach specifically, presents a unique attack, which has not been seen in the wild , in an effort to keep ahead of malicious efforts

Behaviour Profiling for Mobile Devices

With more than 5 billion users globally, mobile devices have become ubiquitous in our daily life. The modern mobile handheld device is capable of providing many multimedia services through a wide range of applications over multiple networks as well as on the handheld device itself. These services are predominantly driven by data, which is increasingly associated with sensitive information. Such a trend raises the security requirement for reliable and robust verification techniques of users.This thesis explores the end-user verification requirements of mobile devices and proposes a novel Behaviour Profiling security framework for mobile devices. The research starts with a critical review of existing mobile technologies, security threats and mechanisms, and highlights a broad range of weaknesses. Therefore, attention is given to biometric verification techniques which have the ability to offer better security. Despite a large number of biometric works carried out in the area of transparent authentication systems (TAS) and Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS), each have a set of weaknesses that fail to provide a comprehensive solution. They are either reliant upon a specific behaviour to enable the system to function or only capable of providing security for network based services. To this end, the behaviour profiling technique is identified as a potential candidate to provide high level security from both authentication and IDS aspects, operating in a continuous and transparent manner within the mobile host environment.This research examines the feasibility of a behaviour profiling technique through mobile users general applications usage, telephone, text message and multi-instance application usage with the best experimental results Equal Error Rates (EER) of 13.5%, 5.4%, 2.2% and 10% respectively. Based upon this information, a novel architecture of Behaviour Profiling on mobile devices is proposed. The framework is able to provide a robust, continuous and non-intrusive verification mechanism in standalone, TAS or IDS modes, regardless of device hardware configuration. The framework is able to utilise user behaviour to continuously evaluate the system security status of the device. With a high system security level, users are granted with instant access to sensitive services and data, while with lower system security levels, users are required to reassure their identity before accessing sensitive services.The core functions of the novel framework are validated through the implementation of a simulation system. A series of security scenarios are designed to demonstrate the effectiveness of the novel framework to verify legitimate and imposter activities. By employing the smoothing function of three applications, verification time of 3 minutes and a time period of 60 minutes of the degradation function, the Behaviour Profiling framework achieved the best performance with False Rejection Rate (FRR) rates of 7.57%, 77% and 11.24% for the normal, protected and overall applications respectively and with False Acceptance Rate (FAR) rates of 3.42%, 15.29% and 4.09% for their counterparts

Bluetooth Smartphone Apps: Are they the most private and effective solution for COVID-19 contact tracing?

Many digital solutions mainly involving Bluetooth technology are being proposed for Contact Tracing Apps (CTA) to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Concerns have been raised regarding privacy, consent, uptake required in a given population, and the degree to which use of CTAs can impact individual behaviours. However, very few groups have taken a holistic approach and presented a combined solution. None has presented their CTA in such a way as to ensure that even the most suggestible member of our community does not become complacent and assume that CTA operates as an invisible shield, making us and our families impenetrable or immune to the disease. We propose to build on some of the digital solutions already under development that, with addition of a Bayesian model that predicts likelihood for infection supplemented by traditional symptom and contact tracing, that can enable us to reach 90% of a population. When combined with an effective communication strategy and social distancing, we believe solutions like the one proposed here can have a very beneficial effect on containing the spread of this pandemic