Introduction

This patent describes a protection system for Android devices that can block access to Bluetooth channels by unauthorized, potentially malicious, applications.

Technical features

This patented invention is a novel solution for the protection of Bluetooth and Bluetooth Low Energy channels in Android devices. A pairing process can occur between any Android device and an external one, or between any app requesting the necessary permission to connect to the device. Users will not notice a connection with a malicious app because of the lack of control during pairing. In case of Bluetooth Low Energy, more than one application can use the channel at the same time. This patent offers a solution to this potential threat by running a virtualization that executes any potentially dangerous app requesting access to Bluetooth channels: any unauthorized attempt to connect  to the device will consequently be blocked.

Possible Applications

• Bluetooth and Bluetooth Low Energy channel protection for Android devices.

Advantages

• Prevents unauthorized pairing between devices and malicious apps (device misbinding);
• User friendly: Android technical knowledge is not required;
• Does not require changes to the Android OS;
• Compatible: can be installed on different Android versions.