Tim Bray posted an article on the Android Developers Blog which was written by Nick Kralevich, an engineer on the Android Security Team. Kralevich seems to make an argument that rooting your device is in fact a form of openness. A commenter on the blog attempted to point to the fact that the only reason users are able to root their phones is because of the lack of sufficient security by the Android team. Kralevich disagrees:
“Legitimately gaining root access to your device is a far cry from most rooting exploits. Traditional rooting attacks are typically performed by exploiting an unpatched security hole on the device. Rooting is not a feature of a device; rather, it is the active exploitation of a known security hole”.
Kralevich goes on to say “Android has a strong security strategy, backed by a solid implementation”. He reiterates the features set in place so applications do not conflict with one another, eliminating possible malicious attacks. Furthermore, he states:
“And yes, we aggressively fix known security holes, including those that can be used for rooting”
Kralevich hopes that in the near future carriers, manufacturers, developers and security teams can just all get along. We hope so too. He ends his thought with a glimpse of Utopia:
“It’s possible to design unlocking techniques that protect the integrity of the mobile network, the rights of content providers, and the rights of application developers, while at the same time giving users choice”
After all, isn’t that what Android is all about? Giving the user choice? Leave us your thoughts in the comments.
[via Android Developers Blog]