Two Six Labs Announces Public Release of Privacy Enhancements for Android™
Arlington VA, May 6, 2020—Two Six Labs, a cybersecurity and advanced technology development company, announced today the open-source release of Privacy Enhancements (PE) for Android. PE for Android is a set of privacy-focused extensions to the Android operating system that open up new ways to implement privacy controls for mobile applications. A white paper detailing the technology may be found at https://github.com/twosixlabs/PE_for_Android/blob/master/PE_for_Android_whitepaper.pdf
Mobile devices are used by billions of people every day and carry vast amounts of highly sensitive personal data about people, corporations, governments and military around the world. Apps frequently access more information than they need and send that data off-device to third parties. End users may not understand the privacy risks posed by their mobile devices.
Nearly five years in development, PE for Android helps app developers provide end users more insight into, and control over, the use of their sensitive data. For example, a messaging app running on PE for Android would not request unfettered access to users’ contacts lists to send or receive messages. Further, end users are empowered with contextual information to better understand why and how their information may be used, so that they can make informed decisions about whether to allow it.
Two Six Labs developed PE for Android in collaboration with DARPA on the Brandeis program, a privacy-focused research effort intended to develop novel technical means of protecting the private and proprietary information of individuals and enterprises.
“Similar to how SE for Android addressed a wide range of serious security threats, we designed PE for Android to mitigate privacy risks and help users safely manage their own private data,” explained Daniel Hallenbeck, Senior Principal Research Engineer at Two Six Labs.
“These privacy-focused extensions to the Android operating system exemplify Two Six Labs’ focus on inventing with purpose,” said Michael Lack, Senior Vice President of Research and Development at Two Six Labs. “By making the latest privacy-preserving technologies more accessible to app developers, we hope PE for Android will help set the standard for protecting end users’ privacy.”
Privacy Enhancements for Android is now publicly available via a portal website:
More technical details can be found in a blog post from key researchers on the team at:
Android is a trademark of Google LLC.
About Two Six Labs
Two Six Labs is an advanced technology research and development company, serving customers across the government sector and private industry. Our teams research, design and deploy revolutionary technology solutions to complex challenges in big data, cybersecurity, data science, electronic systems, mobile devices and user experience design.
twosixtech.com, @twosixlabs on Twitter, Two Six Labs on LinkedIn.
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