Google Collaborates with Ecosystem Partners to Increase Security of System-on-Chip Processors

Today, Google announced that it is working with ecosystem partners to strengthen the security of firmware that interacts with Android. This is part of the company’s defense-in-depth strategy, which seeks to protect the platform from malicious attacks.

The Android operating system runs on what is known as the application processor (AP), but it is only one of many processors on a system-on-chip (SoC). These processors are responsible for tasks such as cellular communications and multimedia processing. To better protect these processors, Google is exploring and enabling compiler-based sanitizers and memory safety features in firmware. Additionally, the company is encouraging the use of memory-safe programming languages like Rust for writing firmware code.

Google notes that hardening firmware running on bare-metal to increase the level of protection across more surfaces in Android is a priority for the company. By taking these steps, Google hopes to make it harder for attackers to exploit vulnerabilities over the air and achieve remote code execution within the Wi-Fi SoC or the cellular baseband.

Google is committed to ensuring the security of its Android platform and is working with ecosystem partners to harden the security of firmware that interacts with it. This will help make it more difficult for malicious actors to exploit vulnerabilities and gain access to sensitive data.