Unencrypted cellular networks can be blocked with Android 14.
To defend smartphones from espionage assaults, Google has unveiled new security capabilities for cellular communication in the Android 14 system, which is anticipated to ship later this month.
The American technology behemoth also said that Android 14 will enable institutions and individuals to disable support for 2G networks at the modem level as well as block support for 2G networks on all of their devices or a specific subset of those devices.
According to Google's release, "Android is the first mobile operating system to offer advanced cellular security mitigations to both consumers and enterprises."
The business continued, "Android 14 offers the advantage of disabling support for unencrypted cellular communication and allows IT administrators to disable support for 2G networks in their managed devices."
The risks of Stingray assaults and phony cellular base stations that can capture users' data, voice, and SMS messages by listening to network traffic are highlighted in Google's announcement.
Cellular simulators called stingrays make fake mobile towers to get nearby devices to connect to them.
Sensitive personal information can be intercepted in this way, including call metadata, SMS messages, voice call content, cellular data, browsing history, and device IMSI (International Mobile Subscriber Identity).
With the advent of 4G networks, Stingray attacks have been significantly reduced in severity; nevertheless, since downgrading to 2G networks is still an option, phony cellular base stations can continue to carry out these potent man-in-the-middle attacks.
Starting with Android 14, those who administer a significant number of devices, such as government entities, or institutions, can ban downgrades in second-generation networks. Google previously introduced the ability to switch off second-generation network connections in Android 12 and then in Android 13. All apparatus under their command.
The Android Enterprise edition already offers more than 200 controls, including the ability to block Bluetooth connectivity, Wi-Fi networks, and USB data transmissions. This and the new choice are only two more.
Attacks using stingrays have increased in frequency over the past few years as a result of their use by law enforcement and surveillance firms. This function is a welcome addition to corporate security because it makes it possible to spy on mobile devices.
The end-to-end encryption of an Android user's IP-based traffic also ensures that any interceptions won't result in data breaches, but Google cautions that some communications, like circuit-switched voice conversations and SMS messaging, may still be accessible on cellular networks.
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