Google IO Recap: Firebase, Jetpack, Kotlin, and R8

May 15, 2019 169 Views Matt Insko

PreEmptive had the opportunity to send a couple of representatives to Google IO this year. IO 2019 didn't tell us what dessert starts with a Q, but it did showcase some great tools and frameworks as well as provide insight into the direction of Android:

Firebase and Jetpack speed up development and allow better compatibility with older platforms. Google reinforced its commitment to Kotlin stating that most of their samples and frameworks will be available first in Kotlin and later to standard Java. R8 is now the default for minification. Android will do more on-device processing to ensure better privacy.

At PreEmptive, we have similar goals:

Staying up-to-date with the latest features of Android development while maintaining compatibility with older platforms.
Support for Kotlin since DashO v8.3 (2017).
Support for R8.
On-device Checks which help protect application data.

The highlight of the trip was the ability for face-to-face meetings with Google employees. We were able to discuss what we have done to incorporate R8 with DashO's Gradle Plugin for Android (available with the DashO 10 Beta) and found we were on the same page regarding the direction of R8. We actually had a chance encounter with a developer who needed a specific piece of advice which we had already listed on The Unofficial R8 Documentation.

Overall, it was a great experience. There was a lot of information to cover in such a limited time. As in prior years, sessions were recorded and are available on YouTube. We recommend the following sessions as they provide a general overview of Android developments:

Fly in Amber: What’s Bugging Infosec Architects?

The life of a security architect is rarely simple. Assessing, defending and improving corporate networks requires thorough knowledge of industry best practices designed to secure critical data, combined with real-world understanding of hacker tricks and tactics meant to undermine this purpose.

As noted by the InfoSec Institute, this is an in-demand job that often comes with high expectations, odd hours and the need for constant professional evolution to stay ahead of cybercriminal threats. Complicating matters is the breakneck pace of technological advancement. The rapid rise of cloud deployments, mobile applications and IoT devices can make even best-laid security strategies seem like flies in amber — hopelessly out-of-date and effectively immobile.

Here’s a look at what’s really bugging security architects — and how they can break the mold of static security to combat emerging threats.

For the third year in a row, Microsoft’s Build conference set up shop in the Washington State Convention Center, giving technology professionals a glimpse into what lies ahead for the Redmond giant.

Previous years highlighted key advancements such as Microsoft 365, the Azure Cosmos DB and Xamarin — in 2019, the company went all-in with announcements for a new Visual Studio, .NET evolution and the emergence of true Linux on Windows OS.

Here’s a look at the best of Build 2019.

Last month we blogged about R8 and Google's build architecture changes and hinted at things to come in PreEmptive Protection - DashO, our powerful Java obfuscation and application protection tool that integrates tightly with Android. Today, we're excited to announce a public beta of our next major release: DashO 10 (Beta 2).

This new version of DashO works together with R8 to protect Android apps and libraries.

Whether you're using Azure Pipelines, TeamCity, Jenkins, or your local dev machine, Dotfuscator Professional is easier to integrate than ever before.

Last August, we released an easier, better way to integrate Dotfuscator into your build process. We quickly followed that with new instructions for Xamarin integration - making Dotfuscator the easiest-to-integrate (and still most-effective!) Xamarin protection product, by far.

Today, we're releasing a suite of features and components that make it much easier to provision Dotfuscator into your continuous integration environment, making it easy to use in your automated build, too.

Google IO Recap: Firebase, Jetpack, Kotlin, and R8

Fly in Amber: What’s Bugging Infosec Architects?