77 malicious apps with 19 million downloads were found on Google Play. The majority of malicious applications (more than 66%) included adware components, as well as malware for Android Joker, which researchers encountered in almost 25% of the analyzed applications. This malware can read and send SMS, steal contacts, take screenshots, make calls and subscribe users to paid services.
Researchers also found its option called Harly, which disguises itself as legitimate applications like games, photo editors, or even flashlights, but contains malicious code inside.
The main discovery is the updated banking Trojan Anatsa (also Tea Bot). On Google Play, it was hiding under the guise of the utility “Document Reader – File Manager”. The installation was carried out without suspicion, but after the first launch, the application downloaded malicious code from the server.
According to the researchers, all detected malicious apps have already been removed from Google Play. Android users must also ensure their Play Protect service is active on their device to flag malicious apps for removal.
«THE ASHGABAT TIMES».
