Android malware can steal Google Authenticator 2FA codes dlvr.it/RQr43X pic.x.com/8fdqpwsdic
Google's Abandoned Android Authenticator App
android Apps developer · 12 comments · 750 words · read ~19,126 times.
The news has just broken that Google's Authenticator App can have its codes stolen by malware. I doubt Google will ever release a fix for this issue - their 2FA app hasn't been updated since September 2017.
Update! 3 months after I published this post, Google updated their app
For two-and-a-half years, Google hasn't touched their 2FA app's code. Perhaps it is perfect? Perhaps there are no more UI improvements or security enhancements that can be done? Or, more likely, it joins a long graveyard of Android apps - launched optimistically and then abandoned.
I get it, not every product you release is a winner. And some have to be shuttered gracefully. But Google Authenticator is special. It is trusted to protect users' accounts. Not just Google accounts - thousands of providers specifically recommend it.
Sure, you and I know that any OTP app will work. But Google spend a lot of money on branding - and organisations use that to signal trust to their users.
Frankly, Android Authenticator is too important to be neglected like this.
Open Source
The Authenticator app is open source. But comes with this delightful disclaimer:
While this fork is open source, the official version of the app still remains proprietary. There is no guarantee that the open source repository will receive any changes made upstream (or vice versa).
Despite multiple bugs being filed, no one is fixing them. Occasionally users are told that an internal Google ticket has been raised - and then silence.
As I mentioned last year, I've switched to andOTP. It's open source, and actively being developed and improved.
Final thoughts
It's OK to stop developing software. It's OK to decide that your limited resources are best spent elsewhere.
It's not OK to heavily promote an open security standard, convince people to rely on your proprietary app, and then abandon it.
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Here's a quick look through all of Google LLC's currently published Android Apps. I've highlighted any which haven't been updated in over 12 months. That seems like an appropriate cut off for abandonment.
| App | Last Update |
|---|---|
| Cardboard Design Lab | 2015-05-29 |
| Hangouts Dialer | 2015-09-02 |
| Authenticator | 2017-09-27 |
| Toontastic 3D | 2017-11-02 |
| Google AdSense | 2017-12-13 |
| Wallpapers | 2018-01-24 |
| Indic Keyboard | 2018-04-19 |
| Wear OS Phone | 2018-05-14 |
| Cloud Print | 2018-05-23 |
| Gmail Go! | 2018-06-06 |
| Google Korean Input | 2018-06-25 |
| Google Spotlight Stories | 2018-11-13 |
| Pinyin (Chinese) Keyboard | 2018-12-12 |
| Japanese Keyboard | 2019-02-25 |
I'm sure there are some I've missed - and there are loads more which are coming up for their one-year anniversary.
Best of: What I blogged about in 2020
Oh wow, didn't realise it had been so long without an update.
Re "you and I know that any OTP app will work" – my work (Microsoft shop) needed me to enable 2FA for something and it didn't work with Google Authenticator, I had to use the Microsoft equivalent.
Glad I use @1Password which works even when Google says "use Google Authenticator app"
Whaaat? I had no idea and I’ve very mixed feelings about this now. Damn it. I guess I’ve to sort this out now 😱
It’s also a real problem to switch from Google Authenticator even to the same app on another phone. There’s no way to migrate your information to another app. 1Password ftw.
drew says:
The Adsense app abandonment is also shocking. Aren’t ads the engine driving Google on the business side?
So if they don’t care to support users’ security and ensure their Google loyalty or support business ads, won’t they lose users and advertisers?
Nope, because there is no where else to go. In part because of what google does choose to support, “Figures released last week show that Google spent a record amount of almost $6m lobbying in Washington DC in the past three months, putting the Silicon Valley behemoth on track to be the top …”
Google's Abandoned Android Authenticator App: shkspr.mobi/blog/2020/02/g… Comments: news.ycombinator.com/item?id=224328…
We have another victim of @killedbygoogle: the Authenticator App. Darn: shkspr.mobi/blog/2020/02/g…
As one-time maintainer of Google Authenticator (and the person who added Bluetooth support to the internal, Google-employees-only version) my preferred TOTP/HOTP app for past 5 years has been Duo by @duosec shkspr.mobi/blog/2020/02/g…
Jason says:
Damn, I guess I'll migrate everything to Authy. Their last update was Feb 11th.
Dznsm says:
Not sure andOTP is currently the best bet. See eg. https://github.com/andOTP/andOTP/issues/427
Thankfully there's another nice OTP app that among others, imports andOTP backups https://github.com/beemdevelopment/Aegis
A few months after I published this, Google updated its authenticator app.
It hasn't received any subsequent updates in the last two years.
I use an alternative (Authy) specifically because I don’t trust Google not to abandon / break Authenticator