Trend Micro Joins Google’s App Defense Alliance

Google has announced Trend Micro will be joining their App Defense Alliance (ADA) to help improve their ability to identify malicious apps before they are published to the Google Play store. Trend Micro will be pre-scanning apps utilizing our Mobile App Reputation Service (MARS). We’re proud to be asked to support this alliance and join the other members who are part of this program which supports Trend Micro’s mission to make the World safe for exchanging digital information.

MARS, was initially developed and launched in 2012. protects our mobile customers by supporting a reputation service that checks any apps on their mobile devices. This uses a process whereby a query is sent by the customer to MARS, which then responds with a detection of whether the app is good, bad, or unknown. If unknown, we utilize threat intelligence to quickly make a determination. MARS received over 47 billion queries in 2021, resulting in 37 million malicious app detections. As of September 2022, MARS has received over 36 billion queries and made 27 million detections.

Trend Micro mobile researchers are regularly publishing articles and reports on mobile threats to help people better understand what this threat landscape looks like. Trend Micro will continue to invest in our research and development both in human capital and technology like artificial intelligence and machine learning to improve the mobile ecosystem. As one of the largest pure cybersecurity vendors in the world, this investment and focus allow us to protect both our partners like Google and our customers from cyber threats targeting them.

As more and more consumers rely on their mobile devices and the apps installed for everyday work and play, this partnership will ensure they are protected from malicious actors around the world. Trend Micro looks forward to a long partnership with Google.