So, if it’s not looking to plant backdoors, what’s the NSA’s business with Android? Ironically, the agency has been working to make Android more secure.
The agency is a longtime contributor to Linux, and its work is the basis of Security-Enhanced Linux, a feature that provides users and administrators more control over who gets to access what in the operating system.
In January 2012, NSA launched Security-Enhanced Android, a project aimed at finding and closing security holes in Android. According to Businessweek, some of the code that NSA wrote has already been merged into the latest version of Android that runs on devices like the Galaxy S4 or the HTC One.
But why is the NSA interested in securing Android and Linux in the first place? Because the two operating systems are open source, flexible, and free, and therefore ideal for use in government systems. Android has already been used for a number of defense-related projects, and recently, Samsung devices running KNOX, a suite of enterprise security features, have been approved for use by the Pentagon. Long story short, it makes sense for the NSA to help harden an operating system that will run on devices that access critical government systems.
The bottom line: The NSA is quietly writing code for Google’s Android OS. Google says anyone has the right to do so.
In a 2011 presentation obtained by Bloomberg Businessweek, Smalley listed among the benefits of the program that it’s “normally invisible to users.” The program’s top goal, according to that presentation: “Improve our understanding of Android security.”
Apple (AAPL) does not accept source code from any government agencies for any of our operating systems or other products,” says Kristin Huguet, a spokeswoman for the company.
