Defending Users against Smartphone Apps: Techniques and Future Directions

Smartphone security research has become very popular in response to the rapid, worldwide adoption of new platforms such as Android and iOS. Smartphones are characterized by their ability to run third-party applications, and Android and iOS take this concept to the extreme, offering hundreds of thousands of "apps" through application markets. In response, smartphone security research has focused on protecting users from apps. In this paper, we discuss the current state of smartphone research, including efforts in designing new OS protection mechanisms, as well as performing security analysis of real apps. We offer insight into what works, what has clear limitations, and promising directions for future research.