Google launches new Android security feature to help uncover spyware attacks

Google is rolling out a new opt-in feature in Android that aims to help security researchers investigate spyware attacks. The feature is called “Intrusion Logging” and is part of Android’s Advanced Protection Mode , which Google launched last year, an opt-in special security mode that enables certain features with the goal of making the device harder to hack. Advanced Protection Mode is designed to counter government spyware attacks and police forensic devices that try to extract data from a person’s phone. These two types of attacks can also be combined. In at least one documented case in Serbia, authorities used a law enforcement forensic tool made by Cellebrite to unlock a device, and then installed spyware as a further step to continue monitoring the target. The rollout of Intrusion Logging is the first time a phone maker has launched a feature with the goal of helping security researchers investigate spyware attacks. To achieve that, Android’s Intrusion Logging creates a new type of log, which records errors and collects evidence when something goes wrong with the software, to provide visibility into suspected spyware attacks. …