Google announces Android Oreo has been updated with improved security features

Since Android Oreo was made available to Pixel and Nexus devices, Google has been working to harden the security of the mobile platform. Today, the company announced some of the improvements they made in the security department throughout the last few months.

Some of these security features have already been implemented like making it safer to get apps and dropping insecure network protocol, while others may be released in the not so distant future.

Google confirmed that it's expanding support for hardware security, which means they have added a reference implementation for Verified Boot running with Project Treble. Verified Boot is a special security feature that's been designed to prevent devices from booting up with software that has been tampered with.

The improved security implementation is called Android Verified Boot 2.0 (AVB) and offers some nifty features that should allow for easier updates and more security, including rollback protection. The latter will prevent a device to boot if downgraded to an older OS version that might be vulnerable to an exploit.

Then, Android Oreo now features the new OEM Lock Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL), which should offer device manufacturers more flexibility for how they protect in case a device is locked, unlocked, or unlockable.

There are many other under the hood security improvements Google implemented into Android Oreo, so make sure to hit the source link for the full list.