How to Prevent Key Injection in Android apps

Last updated May 24, 2021 by Alan Bavosa

Learn the 3 easy steps to add Key Injection Prevention in Android apps during runtime. Prevent hackers from using advanced techniques to take control over Android apps remotely and inject keys or manipulate gestures to commit mobile fraud.

What is Key Injection?

Hackers often abuse system-level settings or features in order to gain remote control over devices and apps. Key injection is an attack method whereby a hacker uses one of several methods to inject keys, keystrokes, or manipulate gestures in runtime. This attack technique is primarily used to commit ad fraud or mobile game fraud, but it can also be used as part of ransomware and other elaborate fraud schemes. Key injection is accomplished either by using Android Debug Bridge (ADB) via USB, or via a separate malicious app that runs on the device and has app permissions enabled that allow key injection. Hackers usually trick mobile users into downloading malicious apps thru social engineering and other techniques, and they often trick mobile users into enabling key injection permissions via screen overlay attacks.

How Does Appdome Help Developers Block Key Injection?

Appdome is a no-code mobile app security platform designed to add security features, like Key Injection Prevention to any Android app without coding. This KB shows mobile developers, DevSec and security professionals how to use Appdome’s simple ‘click to build’ user interface to quickly and easily prevent malicious key injection in Android apps.

Appdome Key Injection Prevention prevents key injection in multiple ways:

Appdome prevents the use of ADB to inject keys into Android apps either by disconnecting the debugger or by exiting the app
Appdome prevents key injection by searching for malicious apps on the device which have key injection permissions. If an app with key injection permissions is running on the device, then the Appdome-secured app will exit/close itself in order to protect itself against the malicious app.

3 Easy Steps to Block Key Injection in Android apps

Please follow these 3 easy steps to add Block Key Injection to any Android app using Appdome.

Upload a mobile app to Appdome’s no code security platform (.apk, .aab or .ipa)
In the Build Tab, under Anti-Fraud, Select Mobile Malware Prevention and Toggle on Block Key Injection (shown below)
Click Build My App

block key injection android

Congratulations! The app is now protected against Key Injection.

Appdome’s no-code mobile app security platform offers mobile developers, DevSec and security professionals a convenient and reliable way to protect Android apps against Key Injection. When a user clicks “Build My App,” Appdome leverages a microservice architecture filled with 1000s of security plugins, and an adaptive code generation engine that matches the correct required plugins to the development environment, frameworks, and methods in each app.

Prerequisites

Appdome account (If you don’t have an Appdome account, create a free Appdome account here)
A license to Block Key Injection
Mobile App binary
Signing Credentials (e.g., signing certificates and provisioning profile)

No Coding Dependency

Using Appdome, there are no development or coding prerequisites to build secured iOS and Android apps. There is no SDK and no library to manually code or implement in the app. The Appdome technology adds the relevant standards, frameworks, stores, and logic to the app automatically, with no manual development work at all.

How to Sign & Publish Secured Apps

After successfully securing your app using Appdome, there are several available options to complete your project, depending on your app lifecycle or workflow. These include:

Signing Secure iOS and Android apps
Customizing, Configuring & Branding Secure Mobile Apps
Deploying/Publishing Secure mobile apps to Public or Private app stores

Or, see this quick reference Releasing Secured Android & iOS Apps built on Appdome.

How to Learn More

Here are a few related resources:

-Block ADB

–Block Frida Toolkits

–Block Magisk Manager and Magisk Hide

Check out Mobile Fraud Prevention or request a demo at any time.

If you have any questions, please send them our way at support@appdome.com or via the chat window on the Appdome platform.

Thank you!

Thanks for visiting Appdome! Our mission is to secure every app on the planet by making mobile app security easy. We hope we’re living up to the mission with your project. If you don’t already have an account, you can sign up for free.