Tool to protect children's online privacy
Tracking instrument nabs apps that violate federal law with 99% accuracy


Date:
June 23, 2020
Source:
University of Texas at Dallas
Summary:
A new study of 100 mobile apps for kids found that 72
violated a federal law aimed at protecting children's online
privacy. Researchers developed a tool that can determine whether
an Android game or other mobile app complies with the federal
Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
A University of Texas at Dallas study of 100 mobile apps for kids found
that 72 violated a federal law aimed at protecting children's online
privacy.


==========================================================================
Dr. Kanad Basu, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering
in the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science and lead
author of the study, along with colleagues elsewhere, developed a tool
that can determine whether an Android game or other mobile app complies
with the federal Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).

The researchers introduced and tested their "COPPA Tracking by Checking Hardware-Level Activity," or COPPTCHA, tool in a study published in
the March edition of IEEE Transactions on Information Forensics and
Security. The tool was 99% accurate. Researchers continue to improve
the technology, which they plan to make available for download at no
cost.Basu said games and other apps that violate COPPA pose privacy risks
that could make it possible for someone to determine a child's identity
and location. He said the risk is heightened as more people are accessing
apps from home, rather than public places, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Suppose the app collects information showing that there is a child on
Preston Road in Plano, Texas, downloading the app. A trafficker could potentially get the user's email ID and geographic location and try to
kidnap the child. It's really, really scary," Basu said.

Apps can access personal identifiable information, including names,
email addresses, phone numbers, location, audio and visual recordings,
and unique identifiers for devices such as an international mobile
equipment identity (IMEI), media access control (MAC) addresses, Android
ID and Android advertising ID. The advertising ID, for example, allows
app developers to collect information on users' interests, which they
can then sell to advertisers.

"When you download an app, it can access a lot of information on your cellphone," Basu said. "You have to keep in mind that all this info can be collected by these apps and sent to third parties. What do they do with
it? They can pretty much do anything. We should be careful about this."
The researchers' technique accesses a device's special-purpose register,
a type of temporary data-storage location within a microprocessor that
monitors various aspects of the microprocessor's function. Whenever an
app transmits data, the activity leaves footprints that can be detected
by the special- purpose register.



========================================================================== COPPA requires that websites and online services directed to children
obtain parental consent before collecting personal information from anyone younger than 13; however, as Basu's research found, many popular apps
do not comply. He found that many popular games designed specifically
for young children revealed users' Android IDs, Android advertising IDs
and device descriptions.

Basu recommends that parents use caution when downloading or allowing
children to download apps.

"If your kid asks you to download a popular game app, you're likely
to download it," Basu said. "A problem with our society is that many
people are not aware of -- or don't care about -- the threats in terms
of privacy." Basu advises keeping downloads to a minimum.

"I try to limit my downloading of apps as much as possible," Basu
said. "I don't download apps unless I need to." Researchers from the
Georgia Institute of Technology, Intel Corp. and New York University
also contributed to the work.


========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by
University_of_Texas_at_Dallas. Original written by Kim Horner. Note:
Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Kanad Basu, Suha Sabi Hussain, Ujjwal Gupta, Ramesh Karri. COPPTCHA:
COPPA Tracking by Checking Hardware-Level Activity. IEEE
Transactions on Information Forensics and Security, 2020; 15:
3213 DOI: 10.1109/ TIFS.2020.2983287 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/06/200623145354.htm

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