SMS Hooking Prevention
SMS Hooking Prevention is a security check for applications that strengthens the SIM and device binding process. During binding, the application sends an SMS from the device's own SIM, and the backend uses the received message as an indicator that the app, device, and SIM belong together. This check helps identify suspicious interference with this SMS communication path while the application is running.
Security Implications
- Defender monitors the SMS communication path while the application is running and reports suspicious activity.
- No changes are required to the way the application sends SMS or to the application code.
- It is recommended to use this signal server-side on binding and onboarding APIs rather than applying it to every API request.
- It is recommended to observe the signal before enforcing it, allowing you to understand its behaviour across your user base and define appropriate thresholds.
- To enable the capability, turn on SMS Hooking Prevention in the MASST portal and regenerate the configuration.
- The check is available for Android and requires the SDK and Command Line Tool (483 and above) from the supported release or later, used as a matched pair.
What This Check Does Not Do
SMS Hooking Prevention is a security signal, not an SMS interception prevention mechanism. It does not block SMS interception and does not replace the existing server-side validation performed on the binding message.
SMS Hooking Prevention is a security signal, not a replacement for existing server-side checks. A clean result means no suspicious activity was observed within the application's process; it does not guarantee that the device is completely uncompromised.