Collaborate Disseminate
A new dynamic tool developed by Columbia University researchers flagged cryptography mistakes made in more than 300 popular Android apps. Continue reading Cryptobugs Found in Numerous Google Play Store Apps
Last month, Google removed 25 Android apps from its Google Play Store after discovering they were stealing users’ Facebook account credentials. The malicious apps, identified by security company Evina, appeared to be created by the same developer… Continue reading Google Removes 25 Malicious Google Play Apps Stealing Facebook Login Credentials
Comparitech researchers led by cybersecurity expert Bob Diachenko have revealed that 24,000 Android Apps expose user information through misconfigurations on Google Firebase, a popular development platform used by roughly 30% of apps on the Google Play… Continue reading Researchers spot 24,000 Android Apps Leaking User Data
A network that delivers ads to hundreds of Android apps also is directing users to malicious websites that could help scammers steal their information or overrun their device with spam. At least 400 apps in Google’s Play Store come embedded with proprietary software that is designed to help app developers monetize their program by serving ads. Scammers are exploiting that process, though, by inserting malicious ads into the software development kits (SDKs) which are meant to help developers earn a living. Domains and URLs sent in ads from the distribution framework known as StartApp flood users with links to malicious sites or push notifications for spam, according to new findings from mobile security firm Wandera provided exclusively to CyberScoop. StartApp, created and run by a New York-based marketing firm, does not appear to be behind any malicious content, though it is compensated by other firms that supply it with the malicious ads. StartApp did not […]
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Continue reading Scammers are abusing mobile ad networks in an attempt to phish Android app users
Google has removed the SuperVPN program from the Google Play store after researchers notified it of a critical vulnerability. Continue reading Google removes Android VPN with ‘critical vulnerability’ from Play Store
Fifty-six apps in Google’s Play store included malicious software that leveraged victims’ devices to click on mobile advertisements, artificially inflating the traffic to those ads and helping scammers make money. Research published Tuesday by the security firm Check Point Technologies details how fraudsters used the network of apps, which were downloaded more than 1 million times, to exploit users’ trust and make a buck. Unlike so many other ad fraud efforts, this campaign was tailored toward children, with 24 of the 56 apps marketed towards kids. Entertainment apps and games with titles like “Cooking Delicious” and “Let Me Go,” a puzzle app, tempted kids into downloading, and then launched the malicious tool. The apps included “Tekya,” a so-called clicker malware that clicked banners and other ads from a variety of sources. Along with kids’ apps, Tekya also came embedded in cooking, calculator, translation and other utility apps. Google removed all […]
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Continue reading Scammers tried using kids apps in the Google Play store to generate cash
Both Google and Apple have removed at least some of the apps from the company, Sensor Tower. Continue reading Analytics firm’s VPN and ad-blocking apps are secretly grabbing user data
These apps plunk ads in front of us when we’re trying to do something else, often leading to inadvertent ad clicks and much cursing. Continue reading Google purges 600 Android apps for “disruptive” pop-up ads
Google has removed another eight apps from the Play Store after researchers determined hackers had been using the games and utility programs to spread malicious software. Users who downloaded the eight Android apps thought they were adding new features for their camera, or installing games meant for kids. In fact the apps, which had been downloaded some 50,000 times, either enrolled victims in expensive premium services without their consent, or installed the “Haken” malware, which siphons user data, researchers from Check Point Software Technologies said in a blog post Friday. The announcement came one day after BuzzFeed News reported that Google had scrubbed another 600 apps that had pushed out “disruptive” advertisements. It’s the latest in a long game of Whac-A-Mole between the security team overseeing the Play Store, and the scammers trying to exploit the app marketplace’s credibility to reach as many victims as possible. Yet the latest revelations […]
The post Google gives the boot to more malware-laden apps posing as games for kids appeared first on CyberScoop.
Continue reading Google gives the boot to more malware-laden apps posing as games for kids
Google has removed more than 600 apps from the Play Store and banned them from the Google AdMob and Google Ad Manager advertising platforms for violating policies on disruptive ads. The massive Google Play Store marketplace holds lots of interesting ap… Continue reading Google Removes 600 Apps from Play Store for Serving Disruptive Ads