{"id":8892,"date":"2016-04-18T12:01:07","date_gmt":"2016-04-18T16:01:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.nccomputertech.com\/?p=8892"},"modified":"2016-04-18T12:01:07","modified_gmt":"2016-04-18T16:01:07","slug":"spotty-android-encryption-is-the-story-behind-the-story-of-apples-battle-with-the-fbi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2016\/04\/18\/spotty-android-encryption-is-the-story-behind-the-story-of-apples-battle-with-the-fbi\/","title":{"rendered":"Spotty Android encryption is the story behind the story of Apple\u2019s battle with the FBI"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Jonathan Keane<\/a> | PCWorld<\/a><\/p>\n

Savvy Android users know that Apple\u2019s face-to-face with the FBI is only the beginning of the phone-encryption furor. Google CEO Sundar Pichai voiced his support<\/a> for Apple and for strong and safe encryption, but he didn\u2019t give specifics on how Google would deal with this situation if it were in Apple\u2019s shoes.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s because if Syed Rizwan Farook, the San Bernardino shooter, had been using an older Android smartphone, we probably wouldn\u2019t be having this discussion.<\/p>\n

Encryption has so far lost out to openness in the Android ecosystem. It’s actually been supported since version 4.0 (KitKat), and the latest iterations of Google\u2019s own Nexus devices have encryption on by default, but the rest of Android has been slower on the uptake, especially internationally.<\/p>\n

\u201cAndroid is different because the entire ecosystem is fragmented,\u201d explained Mike Murray, VP of security research at Lookout. \u201cThe version of Android that Samsung installs on their phone is different than the version that Google installs on their phone and it\u2019s way different than the third party aftermarket vendor who\u2019s building low-end phones in India or China.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s those smaller manufacturers making budget devices that have especially stymied Google. They fear that onboarding mandatory encryption will hamper their phones\u2019 performance<\/a>\u2014for example, lower-end processors can struggle with the encrypt-and-decrypt process. But as standards for processors improve, there\u2019s little reason why encryption could not become the norm when you got a new smartphone.<\/p>\n

So many Android phones, so little encryption<\/h2>\n

Google tried again, making encryption mandatory across the board<\/a> late last year with Android 6.0 Marshmallow. But there\u2019s another flaw in this plan: Only 4.6%<\/a> of the Android landscape is running Marshmallow (as of this writing), and the compulsory encryption rule applies only to new phones running 6.0, not older phones that have been upgraded (it\u2019s optional in that case). Once again, Android is a patchwork.<\/p>\n

On-by-default makes a huge difference in how a person uses a device or an app. Typically, people don\u2019t change the settings much unless they have something specific in mind. By having encryption off by default, a large number of users likely remain unencrypted and oblivious of their vulnerability.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery company manufacturing devices that store sensitive data should be using full disk encryption by default,\u201d said Evan Greer, campaign director Fight for the Future, which staged rallies<\/a> in support of Apple. She added that corporations need to shoulder more of the responsibility in encrypting devices. \u201cWe need to build a movement to hold companies accountable and demand that they do everything technologically possible to protect our private information from hackers, and from illegal government surveillance.\u201d<\/p>\n