User Usage Attack and Security Measure

Abstract

Android is an open platform which is becoming very popular operating system. Its open source code is easily handled by the users to get and use new contents and applications on their handsets. Android is totally a permission based process to develop the applications. With the increasing popularity of these smart phones, additional privacy protection to these devices is required. Android is more flexible to become attractive targets for malicious attacks due to significant advances in both hardware and operating systems. Likewise, by installing malicious contents on the device, users can be breached of their security through the compromised information. By compromising user’s privacy, malicious applications can access voice recording devices, cameras, intercept SMS messages, usage information or gain location information. Thus the security and privacy are the two most important concerns in android. The need to maintain security and data confidentiality on the Android platform makes it an urgent issue to find loop holes in security. In this thesis I present an attack on user’s usage. This attack allows adversaries to steal the user’s usage information and enables attack to get information like what all applications are installed on the mobile, time stamp and date stamp of usage with implementation and a security measure for this spy attack theoretically.