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posted by Fnord666 on Wednesday September 06 2017, @02:46PM   Printer-friendly
from the dunk-it-in-milk dept.

Google is using the boiling frog method to exclude power users and custom ROMS from android.

A new feature in Android 8.0 Oreo, called "Rollback Protection" and included in the "Verified Boot" changes, will prevent a device from booting should it be rolled back to an earlier firmware. The detailed information is here.

As it rejects an image if its "rollback index" is inferior than the one in "tamper evident storage", any attempts to install a previous version of the official, signed ROM will make the device unbootable. Much like iOS (without the rollback grace period) or the extinct Lumias. It is explained in the recommended boot workflow and notes below, together with some other "smart" ideas.

Now, this might seem like a good idea at first, but let's just just imagine this on a PC. It would mean no easy roll back from windows 10 to 7 after a forced installation, and doing that or installing linux would mean a unreasonably complex bootloader unlocking, with all your data wiped. Add safetynet to the mix, and you would also be blocked from watching netflix or accessing your banking sites if you dared to install linux or rollback windows.

To add insult to injury, unlocked devices will stop booting for at least 10 seconds to show some paternalist message on how unlocking is bad for your health - "If the device has a screen and buttons (for example if it's a phone) the warning is to be shown for at least 10 seconds before the boot process continues."

Now, and knowing that most if not all android bootloaders have vulnerabilities/backdoors, how can this be defended, even with the "security/think of the children" approach? This has no advantages other than making it hard for users to install ROMs or to revert to a previous official ROM to restore missing functionality.


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  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by jmorris on Wednesday September 06 2017, @10:53PM

    by jmorris (4844) on Wednesday September 06 2017, @10:53PM (#564314)

    This is starting to look like a legit case where some sort of minimal government regulation is going to be needed. We would never accept Ford selling cars that only burn Ford gas, have locks on the hood only certified Ford tech can open, etc. No, we passed laws mandating standards for interoperability and 3rd party parts and service. We need to do likewise for computing devices.

    Locks should be permissible only when the final end customer gets to control it. A card with a QR code with a master key to control the boot keyring for example. Let it ship with a key for Google, the handset maker and even the carrier, but if you bought it you get the power to revoke em all and install your own, although that might mean installing your own OS. In the case of a carrier owned phone, they could keep the key until you pay off the loan since you could lock them entirely out of property that is still theirs but would have to fully disclose it.

    Then forbid deals which function exactly like the person walking around with the phone is the owner but technically they don't own anything so don't get the keys. No open ended leases, forced rentals, etc. unless an actual monthly fee is being paid, damage is covered and you can turn in the phone under agreed to conditions.

    Finally, at least make threatening noises about fully documenting hardware again. Might not want to pull the trigger on a mandate just yet, at least see if ANY vendor would do it first. If none will, pretty obvious there is unseen influence at work so smash it.

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