Security researchers uncover 200 dangerous Play Store apps
Malicious surveillance application attacks are increasing in what one security company has described as a spyware surge. The 101% increase, year on year, is cause for concern as security researchers from the Zscaler ThreatLabz issue a warning that it had detected 200 dangerous apps in the Google Play Store across a 12-month period. The ThreatLabz 2024 Mobile, IoT & OT Threat Report says these apps have been installed almost eight million times.
200 Malicious And Dangerous Apps Discovered In Google Play Store
Having analyzed data collected by the Zscaler security cloud, comprising a total of 20 billion threat-related transactions and associated threats, Zscaler researchers were able to determine that 200 dangerous apps were available on the Play Store between June 2023 and May 2024.
This analysis found that one Android banking malware family, Anatsa, was using PDF and QR code reader apps to distribute itself while targeting more than 650 financial institutions across the globe. The financial sector was a prime target list for the dangerous apps that Zscaler found, an attack vector that has grown 29% since the same period the year before. This, however, plays into insignificance against spyware, which has increased by a shocking 101%. “It’s clear that threat actors are increasingly motivated by the profitability of attacks,” the researchers said, “either through direct monetary gain or the collection of personalized data and credentials.”
When it comes to geography, perhaps unsurprisingly given the tech-savvy population, the U.S. is the top general target for cybercriminals, Zscaler said. Playing catch-up behind the U.S. come Japan, China, Singapore and Germany. However, when specifically looking at just mobile malware apps, India tops the list with the U.S., Canada, South Africa and The Netherlands making up the top five.
How Google Protects Play Store Users From Malware
Although malware does make it into the Play Store, Google is proactive in detecting and removing threats with great success. Features like Chrome’s Safe Browsing, Android’s security features, and Play Protect for the Play Store all benefit from threat information and intelligence signals from a diverse range of Google products and the long-established threat-detection expertise that ride alongside. Google’s Play Protect system checks apps at the point of installation, as well as scanning your device periodically to detect and help you to remove potentially harmful applications. Play Protect may send you notifications of such potential harm, giving you the option to uninstall, or do this automatically under certain circumstances. Play Protect can also disable the app, to prevent further harm, until it is uninstalled. “In most cases,” Google said, “if a harmful app has been detected, you will get a notification saying that the app was removed.”
