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How does android keystore work on android phones?


Asked by Kynlee McDaniel on Nov 28, 2021 Android



To mitigate unauthorized use of keys on the Android device, Android Keystore lets apps specify authorized uses of their keys when generating or importing the keys. Once a key is generated or imported, its authorizations cannot be changed. Authorizations are then enforced by the Android Keystore whenever the key is used.
Additionally,
Use the Android Keystore provider to let an individual app store its own credentials that only the app itself can access. This provides a way for apps to manage credentials that are usable only by itself while providing the same security benefits that the KeyChain API provides for system-wide credentials.
Furthermore, We get an instance of KeyPairGenerator set to use the RSA algorithm with the “AndroidKeyStore”. Calling generateKeyPair () creates the new pair of keys (Private and corresponding Public key), and adds it to the Keystore.
And,
Although the Android Keystore provider was introduced in API level 18 (Android 4.3), the Keystore itself has been available since API 1, restricted to use by VPN and WiFi systems. The Keystore itself is encrypted using the user’s own lockscreen pin/password, hence, when the device screen is locked the Keystore is unavailable.
Accordingly,
Key material of Android Keystore keys is protected from extraction using two security measures: Key material never enters the application process. Key material may be bound to the secure hardware (e.g., Trusted Execution Environment (TEE), Secure Element (SE)) of the Android device.