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The official downloading app for Android devices, Google Play Store, has reportedly distributed 200 dangerous apps, according to Zscalar, an intelligence research team on their data analysis of malware apps at different distribution platforms in a one-year period. The app was found downloaded by 8 million users.
Zscalar detects over 200 dangerous apps in Google Play Store
According to the data analysis made by Zscalar, an American cloud security company in San Jose California, detected 200 malicious apps in the Google Play Store, out of the 20 million dangerous transaction threats analyzed. The number of downloads of these apps was another matter of concern nearly 8 million downloads were made.
The report of the analysis includes dangerous revelations, Anatsa, a banking trojan that targeted more than 650 banking organizations using the so-called malicious QR code and PDF reader apps. The profitability of invasions results in an increasing number of attacks.
The United States is the main target for cybercriminals, followed by Japan, China, Singapore, and Germany, Zscalar said. Mobile attacks are considered a top threat vector with a massive 111% increase in spyware.
The mobile app reports of Zscalar state that the most targeted countries in the past year were India, the United States, Canada, South Africa, and the Netherlands
Google uses robust security mechanisms to detect malicious apps, but still, hackers find ways to bypass them. From last year’s report, Google addressed a method called ‘versioning’ which delivers malware through system updates or loading it from the attacker’s server.
‘Cybercriminals are increasingly targeting legacy exposed assets which often act as a beachhead to IoT and OT environments, resulting in data breaches and ransomware attacks’, said Chief Security Officer Deepan Desai at Zscelar. The condition is quite worrying forcing users to check twice before installing anything on their devices.
The most common threats discovered in the Google Play Store App
- Joker: An SMS message collector that asks users to subscribe to avail of premium services.
- Adware: Apps that generate fraudulent ad impressions by consuming bandwidth and battery.
- Facestealer: Steals Facebook account credentials by overlaying phishing forms.
- Coper: Information stealer and SMS interceptor which performs phishing and keylogging.
- Harly: Trojan app that asks users to subscribe to premium services.
- Anasta: A banking trojan that targets over 650 banking applications.
Methods adopted by Google to protect Play Store users from malicious apps
Google is capable of detecting and eliminating threats, features including Android security, Chrome safe browsing, and Play Protect receive threat information from different Google products. The Play Protect System, powered by Google checks the legitimacy of apps during installation and scans the device periodically to detect and eliminate dangerous apps. If found send notifications to users telling them to uninstall the app.
Security measures to be taken by the user
You might be wondering, how a user can control the malicious app that even google can’t handle. Users can implement certain security measures before downloading the app. Check for the reviews and the developer of the game, and install the app only if found trustworthy.
Check the application or delete it if you find a decrease in the performance of the phone after installing a specific app.
Try avoiding apps that ask for unnecessary permissions. Check for the app’s number of downloads and how long it has been launched.
Look for red flags in the app’s description. Another important measure is to check whether Google Play Protect is installed on your device as it checks the app behavior and even deactivates or removes the harmful app.
How to enable Google Play Protect?
To check for a Google Play Protect update, open the Google Play Store app, tap the profile icon, press Play Protect and choose settings. Turn the scan app with Play Protect off or on.
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