Given the open-source nature of Android, Google recommends, at minimum, the usage of code obfuscation. However, approaches that use a renaming technique as its obfuscation mechanism, or even full code obfuscation solutions are trivially hacked. For instance, hackers can easily leverage widely available decompilation and code analysis tools to defeat obfuscation-only solutions and therefore lack adequate protection for the application layer that contains highly valued assets or includes sensitive data. Application protection for the Android platform requires a more sophisticated approach with multiple types of protection techniques and multiple layers of defense to secure the overall application.

Arxan, with its offering, claims to provide end-to-end security for Android apps (Java and Native), enabling protection of the code, Web apps, data and cryptographic keys resident within and leveraged as part of an Android application, and the Android OS where algorithms and sensitive data is stored.

As Android developers continue to use the Software Development Kit (SDK) for Java-based apps, the Native Development Kit (NDK) for feature rich native apps, or a combination of both for hybrid apps, Arxan's software security solutions flaunts its capabilities. According to the firm, the suite provides automated defend, detect and react capabilities by deploying various security techniques (called Guards) such as obfuscation, checksum or anti-debug directly into the software code of each android app to protect binaries against discovery and compromise. This is all done within a "defense-in-depth" manner, where guards protect other guards. For example, damage Guards protect applications against dynamic analysis by overwriting a specified range at runtime with random bytes or a user-specified range. Automated passive hacking techniques such as anti-decompile are used as part of the arsenal of techniques used with the product suites.

The sum of Arxan's layered security technology prevents passive and active analysis and delivers resilient app integrity in a proven manner that does not impact source code, application functioning or the development process, added the company.