Google goes out and ‘kills’ some rogue apps

V3 are reporting that Google has remotely removed two suspect Android apps from user’s handsets. I think to my knowledge this is the first public sighting of the Google ‘kill switch’. This functionality allows them or a Network operator to either kill and remove applications that they do want running on a smartphone.

It appears from reports, that the apps in question were written by security researchers.  They were not intended to be used maliciously. However, Google viewed them as intentionally ‘misrepresenting themselves’ and stepped in. I talking with press and partners in recent weeks, on all things Android and security, I have made the point that the Android marketplace owes its current incarnation to the premise of implicit trust. This incident shows how trust can and is being broken. It will be reassuring to some to see Google step in here, being seen to remove the apps from the marketplace and also from the handsets themselves. However, it does show up a latent risk.

June 25, 2010 | Filed Under Announcements, Security 

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