Cloud Sandbox for Mobile App Malicious Content Inspection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Mobile devices with low processing power are vulnerable to malicious content due to their inability to employ the same antivirus techniques as desktop computers, exacerbated by the ease of downloading mobile applications and the proliferation of unsecure app stores.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that utilize a cloud-based virtual machine sandbox to inspect mobile applications for malicious content, where the application is executed and monitored in a simulated environment, isolating the cloud system from potential threats and allowing for detection of malicious behavior without overburdening the mobile device.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If mobile devices use traditional antivirus techniques on-device, then security detection capability is improved, but device processing power and resources are insufficient to support it
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a cloud-based sandbox environment as an intermediary between the mobile device and the antivirus inspection process. The mobile application is transmitted to a remote server where it executes in an isolated sandbox environment, allowing comprehensive security analysis without consuming the mobile device's limited processing resources. The inspection results are then returned to the mobile device, resolving the contradiction between needing strong detection capabilities and having limited device power.
2Ease of operation
If mobile devices download and install applications directly, then ease of access to applications is improved, but exposure to malicious content increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary security inspection of mobile applications in a cloud-based sandbox environment before they are installed and executed on the mobile device. The application is first transmitted to a remote server, executed in an isolated sandbox, and thoroughly inspected for malicious behavior. Only after successful inspection does the application proceed to installation on the mobile device, thereby maintaining ease of access while preventing malicious content exposure.
3Measurement precision
If comprehensive antivirus inspection is performed, then detection accuracy is improved, but inspection time and system resources increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a virtual copy of the mobile application and executes it in a cloud-based sandbox environment for comprehensive security inspection. Instead of performing resource-intensive analysis directly on the mobile device, the system copies the application to a remote server where it can be thoroughly analyzed in an isolated environment. This approach enables high detection accuracy while the inspection time is efficiently managed through parallel processing and optimized cloud infrastructure.
Data Source
AI summary
A low resource mobile device, such as a smart phone or a tablet running a mobile operating system, requests a cloud computer system to inspect a mobile application for malicious content. The cloud computer system downloads the mobile application from a mobile application source, and installs the mobile application in a virtual machine sandbox. The cloud computer system inspects the mobile application for malicious content while the mobile application executes in the virtual machines sandbox. The result of the inspection is sent to the user in accordance with a setting that may be indicated in a cloud sandbox agent running on the mobile device.