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page.title=Security Enhancements in Android 4.4
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<p>
Every Android release includes dozens of security enhancements to protect
users. The following are some of the security enhancements available
in Android 4.4:
</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Android sandbox reinforced with SELinux.</strong>
Android now uses SELinux in enforcing mode. SELinux is a mandatory
access control (MAC) system in the Linux kernel used to augment the
existing discretionary access control (DAC) based security model.
This provides additional protection against potential security
vulnerabilities.</li>
<li><strong>Per User VPN.</strong>
On multi-user devices, VPNs are now applied per user.
This can allow a user to route all network traffic through a VPN
without affecting other users on the device.</li>
<li><strong>ECDSA Provider support in AndroidKeyStore.</strong>
Android now has a keystore provider that allows use of ECDSA and
DSA algorithms.</li>
<li><strong>Device Monitoring Warnings.</strong>
Android provides users with a warning if any certificate has been
added to the device certificate store that could allow monitoring of
encrypted network traffic.</li>
<li><strong>FORTIFY_SOURCE.</strong>
Android now supports FORTIFY_SOURCE level 2, and all code is compiled
with these protections. FORTIFY_SOURCE has been enhanced to work with
clang.</li>
<li><strong>Certificate Pinning.</strong>
Android 4.4 detects and prevents the use of fraudulent Google
certificates used in secure SSL/TLS communications.</li>
<li><strong>Security Fixes.</strong>
Android 4.4 also includes fixes for Android-specific vulnerabilities.
Information about these vulnerabilities has been provided to Open
Handset Alliance members and fixes are available in Android Open Source
Project. To improve security, some devices with earlier versions of
Android may also include these fixes.</li>
</ul>