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There are over 1.2 million applications on the Google Play store today with a large number of competing applications for any given use or function. This creates challenges for users in selecting the right application. Moreover, some of the…
Current legal frameworks enforce that Android developers accurately report the data their apps collect. However, large codebases can make this reporting challenging. This paper employs an empirical approach to understand developers'…
Recent years have seen a strong uptick in both the prevalence and real-world consequences of false information spread through online platforms. At the same time, encrypted messaging systems such as WhatsApp, Signal, and Telegram, are…
As Conversational Artificial Intelligence (AI) becomes more integrated into everyday life, AI-powered chatbot mobile applications are increasingly adopted across industries, particularly in the healthcare domain. These chatbots offer…
Android is among the most targeted platform by attackers. While attackers are improving their techniques, traditional solutions based on static and dynamic analysis have been also evolving. In addition to the application code, Android…
Contact tracing is a very powerful method to implement and enforce social distancing to avoid spreading of infectious diseases. The traditional approach of contact tracing is time consuming, manpower intensive, dangerous and prone to error…
The email system is the central battleground against phishing and social engineering attacks, and yet email providers still face key challenges to authenticate incoming emails. As a result, attackers can apply spoofing techniques to…
Mobile health applications (mHealth apps for short) are being increasingly adopted in the healthcare sector, enabling stakeholders such as governments, health units, medics, and patients, to utilize health services in a pervasive manner.…
Resource leak bugs in Android apps are pervasive and can cause serious performance degradation and system crashes. In recent years, several resource leak detection techniques have been proposed to assist Android developers in correctly…
The digital age has brought a world of opportunity to children. Connectivity can be a game-changer for some of the world's most marginalized children. However, while legislatures around the world have enacted regulations to protect…
Smartphones hold important private information, yet users routinely expose this information to questionable applications written by developers they know nothing about. Users may be tempted to think of smartphones as old-style dumb phones,…
Android is the most popular mobile operating system in the world, running on more than 70% of mobile devices. This implies a gigantic and very competitive market for Android apps. Being successful in such a market is far from trivial and…
Many Android applications collect data from users. The European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) requires vendors to faithfully disclose which data their apps collect. This task is complicated because many apps use…
Internet of Things (IoT) devices are becoming increasingly important. These devices are often resource-limited, hindering rigorous enforcement of security policies. Assessing the vulnerability of IoT devices is an important problem, but…
Mainstream messaging platforms offer a variety of features designed to enhance user privacy, such as password-protected chats and end-to-end encryption, which primarily protect message contents. Beyond contents, a lot can be inferred about…
Mobile apps have become indispensable for daily life, not only for individuals but also for companies/organizations that offer their services digitally. Inherited by the mobility of devices, there are no limitations regarding the locations…
Mobile apps frequently use Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and WiFi scanning permissions to discover nearby devices like peripherals and connect to WiFi Access Points (APs). However, wireless interfaces also serve as a covert proxy for…
The super app paradigm, exemplified by platforms such as WeChat and AliPay, has revolutionized the mobile app landscape by enabling third-party developers to deploy add-ons within these apps. These add-ons, known as miniapps, leverage user…
Privacy labels -- standardized, compact representations of data collection and data use practices -- are often presented as a solution to the shortcomings of privacy policies. Apple introduced mandatory privacy labels for apps in its App…
Parental control applications, software tools designed to manage and monitor children's online activities, serve as essential safeguards for parents in the digital age. However, their usage has sparked concerns about security and privacy…