Security News > 2020 > September > Joker Spyware Plagues More Google Play Apps

Google has deleted six apps from its Google Play marketplace that were infecting users with the Joker malware.

As of Wednesday, Google confirmed with Threatpost that all infected applications have been removed from Google Play, but researchers said that they are still installed on the devices of their users, and urged users to immediately delete the apps.

Malicious apps spreading the Joker have continued to skirt Google Play's protections since 2019, because the malware's author kept making small changes to its code.

In July, Google removed 11 malicious Android apps from the store that were spreading the malware, and in January, researchers revealed that Google had removed 17,000 Android apps at that point that had been conduits for the Joker malware.

Hank Schless, senior manager for Security Solutions at Lookout, said that researchers continue to see Joker popping up in Android apps - and now with workforces going remote due to the current, ongoing pandemic, the threat of Joker being spread via productivity apps is increasing.

News URL

https://threatpost.com/joker-spyware-google-play-apps-2/158895/