ESET, a global player in cybersecurity, has become a founding member of the App Defense Alliance to protect the Google Play Store. The company will provide its detection capabilities and improved security for the Android ecosystem and will also spearhead investigations that make the Google Play Store safer. ESET is an inaugural member and its work began in the Alliance on November 6, 2019.
This alliance complements the existing partnerships that ESET currently has with Google, including the integration with Chronicle, a division of Google Cloud, and the embedded ESET engine in Google Chrome Cleanup, a security tool that alerts Google Chrome users to potential threats.
“What was previously a reactive effort to catch security vulnerabilities is now a full-fledged and proactive campaign to protect billions of consumers and businesses at the source,” said Tony Anscombe, Global Security Evangelist and industry ambassador, ESET. “ESET has constantly been at the forefront of threat research. Together with Google, ESET and the other App Defense Alliance members will be able to provide Google with the information to eliminate threats and help Android users stay one step ahead of cybercriminals.”
The company was handpicked by Google based upon its expertise with uncovering malicious apps in the Google Play Store, which has been well documented over the years. With the discovery of unique banking Trojans, spyware and ransomware, ESET has helped to identify some of the most sophisticated threats targeting Android mobile devices. With this monumental partnership, ESET’s research teams will be intimately involved with the analysis of all applications and help to proactively protect the users of the Google Play Store. As part of this collaboration, ESET will share with Google its determinations on apps it detects as malicious, potentially harmful or unwanted, prior to the app being published on the Google Play Store.
Almost 40 percent of ESET’s employees work in research and development, keeping both ESET customers and the world at large safe from the latest and most advanced cyberthreats. The company said it takes a multilayered approach to cybersecurity, protecting over 110 million users in 200 countries and territories globally. ESET regularly publishes threat research at WeLiveSecurity.
“For years, Google has worked extensively with members of the cybersecurity community to protect both businesses and consumers online, and today’s news is the latest example of this collaboration,” said Dave Kleidenmacher, Head of Android Security and Privacy at Google. “Partnering with a respected member of the cybersecurity industry like ESET will enhance the protection of the Google Play ecosystem, and we look forward to seeing what our teams are able to accomplish together.”
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