Google has a new breakthrough to show why Android is better than iOS devices

Google Android figure standing on laptop keyboard with code in background
(Image credit: Shutterstock / quietbits)

Google has begun work on making Android more secure at the firmware level, targeting processors on systems-on-a-chip (SoCs) that target dedicated tasks such as mobile phone functionality, media playback and encoding, and Wi-Fi connectivity.

Per BleepingComputer, the tech giant is starting to take notice of the fact that, “over the last decade”, firmware vulnerabilities on secondary processors have been become high-priority targets for security researchers and academic papers in the field of computer science.

Wi-Fi and Cellular module exploits are especially of concern, given that they allow for remote code execution (RCE)

TechRadar Pro needs you!

We want to build a better website for our readers, and we need your help! You can do your bit by filling out our survey and telling us your opinions and views about the tech industry in 2023. It will only take a few minutes and all your answers will be anonymous and confidential. Thank you again for helping us make TechRadar Pro even better.

D. Athow, Managing Editor

Android firmware security

Google is planning to explore a variety of protection mechanisms with its “Android ecosystem” partners. These include compiler-based sanitizers, like BoundSan and IntSan, which catch memory-based flaws and crashes that often occur during code compilation.

There are also exploit mitigations, like Control Flow Integrity (CFI), Kernel Control Flow Integrity (kCFI), ShadowCallStack, as well as Stack Canaries, which work towards protecting values from buffer overflow attacks at the compilation stage. 

Buffer overflows will also, in addition to null pointer dereferences and user-after-free attacks, will also be guarded against by a raft of memory safety features. To this end, Google have mulled over a Zero Initialized Memory principle, citing uninitialized memory in C and C++ environments as a common cause of reliability issues.

As BleepingComputer have noted, tackling problems across different parts of a processor could have an adverse effect on system performance, but Google believes that, with optimization, it can mitigate the impacts of its efforts.

TOPICS
Luke Hughes
Staff Writer

 Luke Hughes holds the role of Staff Writer at TechRadar Pro, producing news, features and deals content across topics ranging from computing to cloud services, cybersecurity, data privacy and business software.

Read more
An Android phone being held in the hand
Google is ramping up Android security protection with new Android app safety tools
A stylized depiction of a padlocked WiFi symbol sitting in the centre of an interlocking vault.
Hardware supply chain threats can undermine your endpoint infrastructure
AMD logo
Security flaw means AMD Zen CPUs can be "jailbroken"
MediaTek
MediaTek reveals host of security vulnerabilities, so patch now
Google Pixel 9 Pro
Your next Android phone could get up to eight years of software updates – but there are catches
A padlock image floating over a smartphone.
Best secure smartphones of 2025
Latest in Phone & Communications
GlocalMe KeyTracker
When I tested this global tracker, it trounced the Apple AirTag in so many ways
Privacy Hero II
Privacy Hero II VPN Router
ThinkPhone 25 by Motorola
I reviewed the ThinkPhone 25 by Motorola and while it's not as fast as its predecessor, it's the superior phone in so many ways
FRITZ!Box 7690 WiFi 7 Router
FRITZ!Box 7690 router review
Ulefone Armor Pad 4 Ultra Thermal
Ulefone Armor Pad 4 Ultra Thermal rugged tablet review
Unihertz Tank Pad 8849
Unihertz Tank Pad 8849 rugged tablet review
Latest in News
Nintendo Switch 2 Joy-Con up-close from app store
Nintendo's new app gave us another look at the Switch 2, and there's something different with the Joy-Con
cheap Nintendo Switch game deals sales
Nintendo didn't anticipate that Mario Kart 8 Deluxe was 'going to be the juggernaut' for the Nintendo Switch when it was ported to the console, according to former employees
Three angles of the Apple MacBook Air 15-inch M4 laptop above a desk
Apple MacBook Air 15-inch (M4) review roundup – should you buy Apple's new lightweight laptop?
Witchbrook
Witchbrook, the life-sim I've been waiting years for, finally has a release window and it's sooner than you think
Amazon Echo Smart Speaker
Amazon is experimenting with renaming Echo speakers to Alexa speakers, and it's about time
Shigeru Miyamoto presents Nintendo Today app
Nintendo Today smartphone app is out now on iOS and Android devices – and here's what it does