ABSTRACT
Network covert channels are used to exltrate information
from a secured environment in such a way that an observer
cannot detect that communication is taking place at all.
These secret channels have been identied as an important
security threat to governments and the private sector, and
several research eorts have focused on the design, detection,
and prevention of such channels in enterprise-type environ-
ments. Mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets have
become an ubiquitous computing platform, and are storing
or have access to an increasingly large amount of sensitive
information. As such, these devices have become prime tar-
gets of attackers with malicious intents. This paper discusses
the implementation of network covert channels on the An-
droid mobile platform, and shows that data can be leaked
from these devices in a manner undetectable by the user,
the phone's security features, or network security between
the mobile device and the outside network. Understanding
the threat of covert channels to mobile devices will allow the
development of proactive protection mechanisms.