Hacking Android

Book excerpt: Explore every nook and cranny of the Android OS to modify your device and guard it against security threats About This Book Understand and counteract against offensive security threats to your applications Maximize your device's power and potential to suit your needs and curiosity See exactly how your smartphone's OS is put together (and where the seams are) Who This Book Is For This book is for anyone who wants to learn about Android security. Software developers, QA professionals, and beginner- to intermediate-level security professionals will find this book helpful. Basic knowledge of Android programming would be a plus. What You Will Learn Acquaint yourself with the fundamental building blocks of Android Apps in the right way Pentest Android apps and perform various attacks in the real world using real case studies Take a look at how your personal data can be stolen by malicious attackers Understand the offensive maneuvers that hackers use Discover how to defend against threats Get to know the basic concepts of Android rooting See how developers make mistakes that allow attackers to steal data from phones Grasp ways to secure your Android apps and devices Find out how remote attacks are possible on Android devices In Detail With the mass explosion of Android mobile phones in the world, mobile devices have become an integral part of our everyday lives. Security of Android devices is a broad subject that should be part of our everyday lives to defend against ever-growing smartphone attacks. Everyone, starting with end users all the way up to developers and security professionals should care about android security. Hacking Android is a step-by-step guide that will get you started with Android security. You'll begin your journey at the absolute basics, and then will slowly gear up to the concepts of Android rooting, application security assessments, malware, infecting APK files, and fuzzing. On this journey you'll get to grips with various tools and techniques that can be used in your everyday pentests. You'll gain the skills necessary to perform Android application vulnerability assessment and penetration testing and will create an Android pentesting lab. Style and approach This comprehensive guide takes a step-by-step approach and is explained in a conversational and easy-to-follow style. Each topic is explained sequentially in the process of performing a successful penetration test. We also include detailed explanations as well as screenshots of the basic and advanced concepts.