Worried Your Pixel Phone Is Hacked? Here's How To Check Using Google's New Tool

Alphabet Inc.'s GOOGL GOOG Google has launched a new tool to check whether your Pixel phone has been hacked or tampered with.

What Happened: Google has launched a new Pixel Binary Transparency feature that allows users to check if the operating system on their Pixel phones and tablets has been tampered with.

The Pixel Binary Transparency feature is a public cryptographic log of official "factory images" for Pixel devices. These "factory images" are official installers of the Android operating system for Pixel phones and tablets.

Although it is possible for users to reinstall the latest version of the Android operating system using an installer from Google, not everyone can do it.

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"With this log, Pixel users can mathematically prove that their Pixels are running factory images that match what Google released and haven't been tampered with," Google said.

Google has detailed the steps to check if your Pixel device has been tampered with or not – if your device fails the test, the result will say "FAILURE". If it passes the test, the output will be "OK".

Why This Is Important: Google has implemented a feature called "Android Verified Boot" that establishes a full chain of trust so users are safeguarded. This feature prevents compromised devices from booting in the first place, so user data remains safe.

However, the company notes that attacks on the software supply chain are increasing.

"In recent years, tens of thousands of software users from Fortune 500 companies to branches of the US government have been affected by supply chain attacks," Google said.

These attacks create software to install backdoors in compromised devices, allowing attackers to access and steal user data.

The Pixel Binary Transparency tool is a response to this fresh wave of attacks.

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Photo by Yasin Hasan on Shutterstock