Re: Google power over Android

[Ozzie Paez <ozpaez () SPRYNET COM>]

The primary difference I see in what Google did is that their actions are
more transparent than what other companies have done and continue to do.
The endless stream of patches from MS and other companies have the power to
alter both our systems, system settings and user experience.  We just
experienced this a short time ago when a patch download shut down our
development systems.  We went to sleep with everything working and woke up
to disabled development environments.  There are nuances between Android, MS
and Apple based on their business models, which call for different levels of
centralized control over what is permissible within their environment.  At
this point, Apple is winning the argument primarily because their client
base embraces Apple's view of their product space.  The danger is that if
Apple goofs, there will not be legions of independents offering alternatives
on their platform.  Google seems to be balancing its model between Apple on
one side and MS on the other.  MS has a certification program for software
that most independent ignore and consumers generally pay little attention
to.  So, I don't see what Google did as a problem, but rather as a
reflection of their business model and just something we will have to live
with when we use the Android platform.  The reality is that at this point
and going forward we will know less and less about what is in our systems
and their frequent changes, which makes a strong case for organizations like
this where users can share experiences and learn from one another.

Ozzie Paez
SSE/SAIC
303-332-5363

-----Original Message-----
From: The EDUCAUSE Security Constituent Group Listserv
[mailto:SECURITY () LISTSERV EDUCAUSE EDU] On Behalf Of randy marchany
Sent: Monday, June 28, 2010 2:06 PM
To: SECURITY () LISTSERV EDUCAUSE EDU
Subject: [SECURITY] Google power over Android

Something sinister about this statement:

"Google has the power to not only remove applications from users'
Android phones, but remotely install them as well."

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/06/28/google_remote_android_application_in
stall/

Guess we have to start re-evaluating our smart phone initiatives......

-Randy Marchany
VA Tech IT Security Office & Lab.