Google Play, the Android app store. Photo: Shutterstock
Just as computers were the number 1 target for cybercriminals, the current use of virtual wallets, e-mail accounts and banking credentials have positioned the mobile phone among your favorite targets. All this is possible through malicious applications, in total 18 recently discovered on Android, for which they are responsible steal all kinds of information and install viruses.
While Google reviews apps from various developers around the world before putting them on its store Play Store for android devices, others with Malicious code managed to bypass security.
Recently 18 available applications were discovered in the official store designed for steal private information from users.
What are the Android apps that steal data from your mobile
The place Telephone arena indicates that at least three apps are still available for new installations, including the one that has accumulated more than 50,000 downloads worldwide. The rest, as expected, has been removed from the Google Play download store.
One of the reasons those apps managed to survive the tech giant’s internal security system is that it has a average rating of 4.8therefore it would be considered a useful and safe option thanks to the fact that, of the 900 reviews it presents, the majority are positive.
This is possible because cybercriminals are also responsible for generating countless positive reviews with the intention of “hiding” better.
According to reports from various cybersecurity companies, such as Kaspersy or ESET, in most cases are presented as free productivity tools but, once installed on the phone, they are responsible for stealing user information from phone numbers to email addresses, passwords and including credit card details.
Android phones, the most attacked
Photo: Reuters
With 54% of the device fleet worldwide, according to data from CounterpointCyber threats aim to breach the security measures of the Google operating system and the Google Play Store.
The category of malicious applications that recorded the greatest growth was Spyware (170.2%). This type of threat can access your smartphone’s audio and video recordings, and the large increase in its detections means that attackers can find different ways to monetize on a personal or even corporate level data accessible via an Android device.
Lab52 researchers have identified spyware that establishes complete control over the device and its contents if malicious app permissions are accepted by the user. ESET detects this threat as “a variant of the Android / Spy.Agent Trojan”, that is number seven on the list of the top 10 Android threat detections.
For their part, AppCensus researchers Joel Reardon and Serge Egelman have discovered several applications available on Google Play that it contained malicious code to collect phone numbers, email addresses and location data. Some of them had been downloaded over 10 million times before Google removed them.
However, they later reappeared in the store, albeit without the software development kit (SDK) responsible for collecting the data. Researchers have linked them questions with a company based in Panama which, according to the Wall Street Journal (paywall), is tied to a defense contractor it supplies cyber intelligence services.
In addition, Pradeo described other spyware, installed thanks to a new distribution vector by over 100,000 users. The Face thief spyware was available on the Google Play Store as a cartoon photography and social engineering tool for stealing Facebook credentials. Google subsequently removed the malicious app from its store.
Other Android categories that saw a significant increase in detections were scam apps (27.7%), clickers (31.6%) presenting some form of ad fraud, and SMS Trojans (145.20%). This threat, which is most visible on the affected users’ monthly mobile bill, is represented in the list of The 10 best threats for Android.
Tips and advice for avoiding malicious apps
Cybercriminals often bypass the Google Play Store’s defense mechanisms.
In case you have downloaded one of the applications, the main thing is remove it completely. For this, you will need to go to your phone’s settings menu and go to the apps section to see all the downloaded ones. Once selected, you must first press the “stop” option and the delete option.
To protect yourself from cyber scams, the cybersecurity company Kaspersky has listed a number of recommendations. The main one, for example, is the download apps exclusively from official stores.
If you have downloaded an app whose user experience is at least curious on the phone, such as sending messages without explanation, overheating or opening meaningless pages; Delete the app immediately change all your passwords. Install a security solution on your mobile.
Excessive permissions an app might ask for are often indicators to watch out for. Specialists urge us to question their need to access private data stored on the mobile. In some cases, the user can deny some permissions and the app will work perfectly.
Consider removing sensitive data, such as credit card numbers or PIN codes, from your address book. To protect this information, it is best to keep it in safe places.
The list of apps you shouldn’t download on your Android
- Responsible for documents.
- Coin track loan – Online loan.
- Fantastic caller screen.
- PSD authorization protector.
- Emoji RGB keyboard (keyboard with RGB emoji).
- Camera Translator Pro (Camera Translator Pro).
- Fast PDF scanner.
- Hot air balloon background.
- Colorful messenger.
- Delinquent photo editor.
- Anime background.
- Peace SMS Happy photo collage.
- Smart keyboard.
- Special photo editor.
- 4K Wallpapers.
SL
Source: Clarin
