Android users’ sensitive data, including device details, compromised
again. Android apps that access the details without the user’s knowledge are a
part of the scheme.
WiFi details that comprise of the network name, the network
BSSID, the local IP address, device’s MAC address and the DNS server
information, to name a few are all included in the data that was exposed and
which can be a great way to track users online and to locate the user in real
time.
THE CAUSE
An internal feature of the Android OS that goes by the name
of “Intents” is the main reason behind all the leakage of data. A message is
dispersed all over the internal system that gets read by all the application and
OS functions on an Android device.
According to sources, the broadcasting of the information
about the WiFi connection and the WiFi networks, is done through two distinct intents.
WiFiManager’s NETWORK STATE CHANGED
ACTION and WiFiP2PManager’s WiFi
P2P THIS DEVICE CHANGED ACTION.
The Android applications
that are installed, set up posts for the two ‘intents’ and the WiFi information
is seized regardless of the permission.
The android
permission system is totally hampered by the leakage of this overly sensitive
personal data as the user’s permission, for the completion of any action, has
no role to play.
SkyHook and
WiGLE are two of the BSSID identifiers that could be used to wrest the WiFi
details using the infamous ‘indents’. In fact, a malicious attempt could be
made to fetch the user’s live location. The application doesn’t ask for the
WiFi access permission and yet the data is harvested with subsequent ease.
Apparently, all
the older Android versions are affected by this and Google has made a statement
where it said that the WiFi broadcast leak would be fixed in the next Android
version, which is, “Android Pie (9.0)”
