DHS develops new technology to secure apps from cyber attackers

A new technology called Trusted Mobile System (TrustMS) developed by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) is designed to secure apps from cyber attackers.

TrustMS, developed by the DHS Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) and Intelligent Automation, is designed to protect operating systems and apps on embedded platforms against most cyberattacks. It provides protections against exploits such as stack manipulation, buffer overflows, execution of unintended code, and even execution of an app’s code in the wrong order.

Thousands of apps and driver updates are released each year, which makes verifying that devices are secure a daunting challenge. More than 12,000 new common vulnerabilities were identified in 2019 alone.

The technology monitors a software’s execution as the program runs and detects attack scenarios. When a vulnerability is exploited, the system can detect the manipulation and prevent attackers from taking advantage of them, inoculating a device against most cyberattacks.

“TrustMS is a groundbreaking technology that will help to greatly enhance the security of the most touched parts of the mobile ecosystem—devices and apps—as well as embedded systems,” Vincent Sritapan, S&T Mobile Security R&D program manager, said. “It will give mobile and embedded device owners and users peace of mind that their devices are safeguarded against zero-day attacks. It also will significantly strengthen the entire mobile ecosystem—from mobile devices to the software that provides functionality to the backend systems that empower mobility.”

TrustMS could be employed in many different sectors and industries, including power and gas utilities, national defense entities, or state, local, tribal, and territorial government agencies.

Intelligent Automation, based in Rockville, Md., successfully piloted TrustMS on SECO InHand’s Hydra-Q6 Tablet. The technology is available now for licensing.

“IAI’s collaboration with S&T and SECO InHand has resulted in the successful creation of new, deployable cyber technologies for handheld and embedded platforms. We are looking forward to continued partnerships with SECO InHand and S&T to deploy TrustMS on new technologies across the country,” Vikram Manikonda, IAI president and CEO, said.