Attribute-level Encryption of Globally Readable and Writeable Databases on Android

摘要

Android mobile devices have become an attractive consumer product because of their portability, high definition screens, long battery life, intuitive user interface, and ubiquitous competitive vendor pricing. The very feature that has helped with the proliferation of the devices is also one of the most problematic: their portability could result in theft, potentially allowing data to be compromised. For applications deployed to these devices, data security requirements need to be incorporated in the design process so these devices can be considered viable data collection tools. Researchers at RTI have been working to secure data on Android mobile devices so that confidential data can be easily accessed, but at the same time allow for selected information on the device to be encrypted and therefore difficult to obtain illegitimately. We have developed software that will encrypt specific attributes of databases residing on the internal secure digital card (SD Card) of Android devices. The method we have developed could also benefit other Android applications requiring secure storage of data on globally readable and writable databases. In this paper, we discuss the technologies and methods used in our Android database encryption/decryption implementation and their potential scalability to broader applications.