ID :IRCNE2012061512
Date: 2012-06-06
IDG News Service - The Android malware scanner called Bouncer, which Google uses to scrutinize all apps uploaded to Google Play, can be easily bypassed, a pair of security researchers said on Monday.
Mobile security researchers Jon Oberheide and Charlie Miller have devised several methods that could allow malicious apps to determine when they are being inspected by Google's scanner and hide their real purpose.
In February, Google revealed that it uses an in-house developed service called Bouncer to scan all apps that are made available for download or purchase on Google Play -- then known as the Android Market -- for signs of malware. The company explained that Bouncer executes every newly uploaded app inside an Android emulator and analyzes its behavior.
Antivirus programs have long used built-in emulators to safely observe how suspicious files behave when executed and most antivirus experts analyze malware samples in virtual machines. As a result, a lot of malware programs are now designed to suppress their malicious behavior if they detect the use of emulated environments.
Oberheide and Miller took a similar approach in their attempt to bypass Bouncer. "If you know your app is running in Bouncer, you just play dead," Oberheide said via email. "If you know your app is outside Bouncer on a real user's device, then you just pull down your root exploit from an external server."
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