A study on the efficient management of android apps using a whitelist

Abstract

Currently, many people use the smart phone throughout the world, and the government and enterprise also use it to improve business efficiency. However, there is a risk that the confidential information of the government or enterprise can be disclosed, if the malicious or forged/altered App is installed and executed in the smart phone used for work. Apps distributed by the domestic App Store are verified in advance, using the independent verification system of each App Store. However, those App Stores don’t use the common verification system, and their verification system is lacking security features. Besides, the Android Apps can be installed and used, using the alternative method (Android black market and APK file), instead of the official App Store. As a result, the use of the non-verified App is rarely controlled. To prevent the alternative method, mobile device management (MDM) and other methods are employed but are not quite effective. To supplement these shortcomings, this paper proposes a method of providing a reliable smart phone environment to users, by verifying the safety of the App using the common verification method for Android phones, and managing the verified App with a whitelist technology, and testing the installed App periodically. © Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014.