Security News

Google Play apps with 2.5M installs load ads when screen's off
2023-08-07 15:50

McAfee's Mobile Research Team discovered the malicious Android apps and reported them to Google as they violated Google Play Store's policies. McAfee's report says the adware was hidden in Google Play apps that impersonated the TV/DMB Player, Music Downloader, News, and Calendar applications.

Google explains how Android malware slips onto Google Play Store
2023-08-04 17:04

The Google Cloud security team acknowledged a common tactic known as versioning used by malicious actors to slip malware on Android devices after evading the Google Play Store's review process and...

Malicious Apps Use Sneaky Versioning Technique to Bypass Google Play Store Scanners
2023-08-03 16:18

Threat actors are leveraging a technique called versioning to evade Google Play Store's malware detections and target Android users. Earlier this May, ESET discovered a screen recording app named "iRecorder - Screen Recorder" that remained innocuous for nearly a year after it was first uploaded to the Play Store before malicious changes were introduced sneakily to spy on its users.

7 fake cryptocurrency investment apps discovered in Google Play, Apple App Store
2023-08-03 06:47

Sophos released new findings on CryptoRom scams—a subset of pig butchering schemes designed to trick users of dating apps into making fake cryptocurrency investments. Since May, Sophos X-Ops has...

Google Play will enforce business checks to curb malware submissions
2023-07-13 19:20

Google is fighting back against the constant invasion of malware on Google Play by requiring all new developer accounts registering as an organization to provide a valid D-U-N-S number before submitting apps. Typically, malicious apps on Google Play are submitted for review without dangerous code or payloads, which are then fetched later via an update in the post-installation phase.

Two Spyware Apps on Google Play with 1.5 Million Users Sending Data to China
2023-07-08 07:45

Two file management apps on the Google Play Store have been discovered to be spyware, putting the privacy and security of up to 1.5 million Android users at risk. These apps engage in deceptive behaviour and secretly send sensitive user data to malicious servers in China.

Apps with 1.5M installs on Google Play send your data to China
2023-07-06 18:43

Security researchers discovered two malicious file management applications on Google Play with a collective installation count of over 1.5 million that collected excessive user data that goes well beyond what's needed to offer the promised functionality. The apps, both from the same publisher, can launch without any interaction from the user to steal sensitive data and send it to servers in China.

Android spyware camouflaged as VPN, chat apps on Google Play
2023-06-19 15:22

Three Android apps on Google Play were used by state-sponsored threat actors to collect intelligence from targeted devices, such as location data and contact lists. The malicious Android apps were discovered by Cyfirma, who attributed the operation with medium confidence to the Indian hacking group "DoNot," also tracked as APT-C-35, which has targeted high-profile organizations in Southeast Asia since at least 2018.

Android apps with spyware installed 421 million times from Google Play
2023-05-30 14:38

A new Android malware distributed as an advertisement SDK has been discovered in multiple apps, many previously on Google Play and collectively downloaded over 400 million times. In the background the trojan SDK checks the Android device's sensor data to confirm that it's not running in a sandboxed environment, commonly used by researchers when analyzing potentially malicious Android apps.

Scammers exploit AI trend with fake ChatGPT apps on Google Play, Apple App Store
2023-05-17 10:00

These apps have popped up in the Google Play and Apple App Store. "Scammers have and always will use the latest trends or technology to line their pockets. ChatGPT is no exception. With interest in AI and chatbots arguably at an all-time high, users are turning to the Apple App and Google Play Stores to download anything that resembles ChatGPT," said Sean Gallagher, principal threat researcher, Sophos.