Quote:Google this week announced a partnership with several security solutions providers, aimed at fighting bad applications in the Android ecosystem.
 
Called App Defense Alliance, the effort represents a collaboration between Google, ESET, Lookout, and Zimperium, and its goal is to quickly find potentially harmful applications (PHAs), take necessary measures against them, and ensure that the Google Play Store is a safer place for all users.
 
With over 2.5 billion Android devices out there, the ecosystem attracts threat actors looking to abuse users’ trust for their benefit.
 
As part of the newly announced initiative, Google is integrating the Google Play Protect detection system with the partners’ scanning engines in an attempt to detect bad applications before they are published in the store.
 
“This will generate new app risk intelligence as apps are being queued to publish. Partners will analyze that dataset and act as another, vital set of eyes prior to an app going live on the Play Store,” Google says.