Google Teams Up with Ecosystem Partners to Enhance Security of SoC Processors

Feb 24, 2023Ravie LakshmananMobile Security / Firmware

Google said it’s working with ecosystem partners to harden the
security of firmware that interacts with Android.

While the Android operating system runs on what’s called the
application processor (AP), it’s just one of the many processors of
a system-on-chip (SoC^[1]) that cater to various
tasks like cellular communications and multimedia processing.

“Securing the Android Platform requires going beyond the
confines of the Application Processor,” the Android team said^[2]. “Android’s
defense-in-depth strategy also applies to the firmware running on
bare-metal environments^[3]
in these microcontrollers, as they are a critical part of the
attack surface of a device.”

The tech giant said the goal is to bolster the security of
software running on these secondary processors (i.e., firmware) and
make it harder to exploit vulnerabilities over the air to achieve
remote code execution within the Wi-Fi SoC or the cellular
baseband.

To that end, Google noted that it’s exploring and enabling
compiler-based sanitizers and turning on memory safety features in
firmware as exploit mitigation measures.

Given the resource constraints associated with bare-metal
targets, the idea is to “harden the most exposed attack surface –
while minimizing any performance/stability impact,” the Mountain
View-based company explained.

Another key area is the use of memory-safe programming languages
like Rust for writing firmware code, continuing its efforts to
expand its adoption^[4]
across the platform.

“Hardening firmware running on bare-metal to materially increase
the level of protection – across more surfaces in Android – is one
of the priorities of Android Security,” Google said.