Google Wants To Secure 2G Networks On Android 14: Know More – News18

Google realises that 2G networks are nonetheless prevalent out there, although 4G is the de-facto know-how for many international locations. But having a dated community within the combine is a safety concern, not just for the tech big however the customers as effectively, leaving them susceptible to potential assaults which can not have a repair. So Google realises this risk and has devised a characteristic to cease 2G networks from changing into a safety concern for customers.

The firm has shared particulars about its first-of-kind safety characteristic for connectivity, which might disable 2G networks on a cellphone that has Android 14 working. While Google makes use of the instance of the United States for 2G networks, you possibly can put India in the identical context, the place you continue to have tens of millions utilizing the 2G-powered characteristic telephones.

The different concern is that even the older telephones will latch onto the 2G community if the opposite networks usually are not accessible within the space, which might develop into a severe weapon for malicious assaults. Google feels that some hacker would possibly disable using different networks on the cellphone, and restrict its compatibility to 2G community, permitting them to entry the system by a collection of vulnerabilities within the software program and the community.

“2G networks, first implemented in 1991, do not provide the same level of security as subsequent mobile generations do. Most notably, 2G networks based on the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) standard lack mutual authentication, which enables trivial Person-in-the-Middle attacks,” Google explains on this submit.

And due to these limitations of 2G, hackers are likely to downgrade the connectivity choices of a tool from 5G or 4G right down to 2G. These options have resulted within the rise of surveillance and assaults like Pegasus have proven us the hazards posed by them. The firm says Android 12 was the primary model to work on this route, and was first launched on the Pixel 6 however is now supported by all Android units which are appropriate with Radio HAL 1.6+ and with Android 14, this safety characteristic goes as much as one other degree.

Google has resorted to securing the enterprise units with its newest model, who’re at a larger risk from such assaults. These prospects can shield the units utilized by their folks and likewise handle any potential visitors interception by 2G networks.