Android APK Theft Prevention Using a Cross-Marketplace License Verification Library

Abstract

Software piracy is a problem which causes massive financial damages in the world. The prolific embracement of mobile applications has created even more vectors for software pirates to exploit. Android is one of the most popular smart phone platforms, which accounts for a large number of these mobile applications in the world. The Android application ecosystem has a number of inherent problems in terms of application theft prevention. This dissertation discusses the problems with current license verification mechanisms for Android and identifies that they are inconvenient for the end user as well as the developer. Therefore, a novel approach is proposed in the form of a cross-marketplace license verification library named CrossLVL. A sample implementation of the proposed solution is described in the dissertation. Critical evaluation and a survey carried out among Android developers suggests that the solution is developer friendly, solves many of the existing problems in Android application theft prevention and has the potential to reach widespread adoption.