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Sideloading

Sideloading is the practice of installing applications on a device outside of its official app store, bypassing the manufacturer's authorized distribution channel. This introduces security risks by circumventing the vetting processes designed to keep malicious software off devices.

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About this video

Sideloading is the practice of installing applications on a device outside of the manufacturer's official app store, bypassing the authorized distribution channel entirely. Device makers maintain curated marketplaces — such as the Google Play Store or Amazon Appstore — that serve as gatekeepers, vetting software for malware, stability issues, and general quality before it reaches consumers. These ecosystems exist for both commercial and security reasons, giving manufacturers control over what software runs on their hardware while providing users a baseline assurance that what they're installing has been reviewed. When users circumvent these controls, whether through jailbreaking or other methods, that layer of protection disappears entirely. The device becomes vulnerable to unvetted applications that may contain malware, spyware, or other malicious payloads that would never have passed through an official review process. From a security standpoint, sideloading is a significant risk vector, particularly in enterprise environments where a single compromised device can serve as an entry point into a broader network.

What you'll learn

What's covered

Sideloading

Key terms

Sideloading
The installation of software or applications on a device outside of the device's official app store, bypassing manufacturer-imposed controls and security vetting.
Malware
Software specifically designed to disrupt, damage, or gain unauthorized access to a system.
Vulnerability
A weakness in a system, application, or process that can be exploited by a threat actor.

Topics

Sideloading Mobile Security Application Security Malware Mobile Device Management

Transcript

Sideloading is when we install other software on a device that wasn't really authorized for that device.

A Personal Example

When I got my Kindle Fire, I wanted to install software on it, because it was very limited on what I could install off of it. It was really limited to what was on the Amazon store, and they locked it down to really only offer a few things. Well, I knew that this was capable of doing so much more, so I jailbroke it so that way I could install other apps on it. Well, what I was doing was sideloading. I was installing other apps on it that were not authorized for that device.

Why Official App Stores Exist

Device manufacturers have some sort of app store, like the Google Play Store, that are installed on a device and give you access to all sorts of apps. Now, the reason why they do that is so that way they have some level of control to make sure that you're getting something quality that doesn't have viruses on it and doesn't have any problems. Not to mention, it's a marketed thing as well. They have more control over what you have access to. So it's both from a marketing standpoint, but it's also from a safety standpoint.

So it's problematic when somebody is putting different apps and software on here, because it starts opening up those devices for problems. So sideloading is installing software and applications on a device outside of the device's official app store.

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