Security News > 2023 > April > Google banned 173K developer accounts to block malware, fraud rings

Google says it banned 173,000 developer accounts in 2022 to block malware operations and fraud rings from infecting Android users' devices with malicious apps.

"In 2022, we prevented 1.43 million policy-violating apps from being published on Google Play in part due to new and improved security features and policy enhancements - in combination with our continuous investments in machine learning systems and app review processes," the Google Security team said.

This resulted in a decline in the number of accounts used to disseminate apps violating Google Play policies.

Throughout 2021, Google blocked 1.2 million policy-violating apps, banned 190,000 accounts linked to malicious and spammy devs, and closed approximately 500,000 inactive or abandoned developer accounts.

"As the Android ecosystem expands, it's critical for us to work closely with the developer community to ensure they have the tools, knowledge, and support to build secure and trustworthy apps that respect user data security and privacy," Google said.

More recently, in February 2023, Google revealed that the next major version of the world's most popular mobile operating system, Android 14, will block malware from abusing sensitive permissions by targeting older API levels.

News URL

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/google/google-banned-173k-developer-accounts-to-block-malware-fraud-rings/