Anatsa Android Trojan Bypasses Google Play Security, Expands Reach to New Countries

The Android banking trojan known as Anatsa has expanded its focus to include Slovakia, Slovenia, and Czechia as part of a new campaign observed in November 2023. “Some of the droppers in the campaign successfully exploited the accessibility service, despite Google Play’s enhanced detection and protection mechanisms,” ThreatFabric said in a report shared with The […]

Malicious Apps Use Sneaky Versioning Technique to Bypass Google Play Store Scanners

Threat actors are leveraging a technique called versioning to evade Google Play Store’s malware detections and target Android users. “Campaigns using versioning commonly target users’ credentials, data, and finances,” Google Cybersecurity Action Team (GCAT) said in its August 2023 Threat Horizons Report shared with The Hacker News. While versioning is not a new phenomenon, it’s […]

Two Spyware Apps on Google Play with 1.5 Million Users Sending Data to China

Two file management apps on the Google Play Store have been discovered to be spyware, putting the privacy and security of up to 1.5 million Android users at risk. These apps engage in deceptive behaviour and secretly send sensitive user data to malicious servers in China. Pradeo, a leading mobile security company, has uncovered this […]

Fleckpe Android Malware Sneaks onto Google Play Store with Over 620,000 Downloads

A new Android subscription malware named Fleckpe has been unearthed on the Google Play Store, amassing more than 620,000 downloads in total since 2022. Kaspersky, which identified 11 apps on the official app storefront, said the malware masqueraded as legitimate photo editing apps, camera, and smartphone wallpaper packs. The apps have since been taken down. […]

Google Blocked Over 1.4 Million Malicious Apps From Google Play Store

Since Google bought Android 2005, its sole responsibility has been to provide the best user experience and ensure security for its users. Google Play Protect was installed on every Android device to ensure every application was secure.  Google stated that they had prevented around 1.43 million policy-violating applications from publishing on the Google Play Store […]

Goldoson Android Malware Infects Over 100 Million Google Play Store Downloads

h A new Android malware strain named Goldoson has been detected in the official Google Play Store spanning more than 60 legitimate apps that collectively have over 100 million downloads. An additional eight million installations have been tracked through ONE store, a leading third-party app storefront in South Korea. The rogue component is part of […]

Cybercriminals Turn to Android Loaders on Dark Web to Evade Google Play Security

Malicious loader programs capable of trojanizing Android applications are being traded on the criminal underground for up to $20,000 as a way to evade Google Play Store defenses. “The most popular application categories to hide malware and unwanted software include cryptocurrency trackers, financial apps, QR-code scanners, and even dating apps,” Kaspersky said in a new […]

Beware of Malicious 2FA Apps in App Store and Google Play that Deploys Malware

Cybersecurity experts at Sophos recently detected multiple malicious 2FA apps in App Store and Google Play that deploy malware.  While Twitter made a recent announcement stating that it no longer considers SMS-based two-factor authentication (2FA) to be sufficiently secure. Users who have opted for Twitter’s premium service, Twitter Blue, and have purchased a verified badge […]

Beware: Malicious Apps On Apple & Google Play Push Users into Fake Investments

Threat actors have managed to get their hands on two shady applications that were uploaded to the app stores managed by both Google and Apple. These apps then induced users into making fake investments in cryptocurrencies. The cybersecurity experts at Sophos uncovered the two fraudulent apps, named:-  [Ace Pro] Malicious App in Google Play [MBM_BitScan] […]

Malicious Google Play Store App Spotted Distributing Xenomorph Banking Trojan

Google has removed two new malicious dropper apps that have been detected on the Play Store for Android, one of which posed as a lifestyle app and was caught distributing the Xenomorph banking malware. “Xenomorph is a trojan that steals credentials from banking applications on users’ devices,” Zscaler ThreatLabz researchers Himanshu Sharma and Viral Gandhi […]

Over 75 Applications on Google Play with 13M Installations Deliver Adware

Researchers from HUMAN’s Satori Threat Intelligence team found a new adware operation named ‘Scylla’, which is the third wave of an attack reported in August 2019 dubbed ‘Poseidon’. The second wave, indeed from the same threat actor, was called ‘Charybdis’ and cropped up in late 2020. Reports say Apps related with Scylla operation have been […]

Over a Dozen Android Apps on Google Play Store Caught Dropping Banking Malware

A malicious campaign leveraged seemingly innocuous Android dropper apps on the Google Play Store to compromise users’ devices with banking malware. These 17 dropper apps, collectively dubbed DawDropper by Trend Micro, masqueraded as productivity and utility apps such as document scanners, QR code readers, VPN services, and call recorders, among others. All these apps in […]

New Android Malware on the Google Play Store with Over 3 Million Downloads

A new Android malware called ‘Autolycos’ installed over 3 million times is surfing on the Google Play Store by secretly subscribing users to its premium services. Maxime Ingrao, Security Researcher from Evina found the new android malware ‘Autolycos’, which is available on the Google Play store at present. There are two applications that are still […]

New Octo Banking Trojan Spreading via Fake Apps on Google Play Store

A number of rogue Android apps that have been cumulatively installed from the official Google Play Store more than 50,000 times are being used to target banks and other financial entities. The rental banking trojan, dubbed Octo, is said to be a rebrand of another Android malware called ExobotCompact, which, in turn, is a “lite” […]

SharkBot Banking Trojan Resurfaces On Google Play Store Hidden Behind 7 New Apps

As many as seven malicious Android apps discovered on the Google Play Store masqueraded as antivirus solutions to deploy a banking trojan called SharkBot. “SharkBot steals credentials and banking information,” Check Point researchers Alex Shamshur and Raman Ladutska said in a report shared with The Hacker News. “This malware implements a geofencing feature and evasion […]

SharkBot – New Generation Malware on Google Play Distributed as Android Antivirus App

While malware distributors may have a harder time getting their malicious apps through Google’s automatic scanning and flagging system, but, SharkBot shows that they can easily bypass the company’s security barriers and even human or manual verifications.  Although the app was unpopular, its presence in Google Play Store shows that nobody but the distribution platform […]

New Android Banking Trojan Spreading via Google Play Store Targets Europeans

A new Android banking trojan with over 50,000 installations has been observed distributed via the official Google Play Store with the goal of targeting 56 European banks and carrying out harvesting sensitive information from compromised devices. Dubbed Xenomorph by Dutch security firm ThreatFabric, the in-development malware is said to share overlaps with another banking trojan […]

Android Banking Malware Uses Fake Google Play Page to Spread to Devices

In Brazil a large financial services provider, Itaú Unibanco has been targeted by an Android banking trojan, as the cyber security analysts at Cyble claimed. And this financial service provider has more than 55 million customers globally. The Itaú Unibanco has been exploited by the threat actors to deploy an extraordinary trick to distribute to […]

Malware infected Minecraft modpacks hit Google Play Store

Minecraft is a top-rated game with followers spread worldwide. However, if you are a Minecraft player, you must exercise caution and do some research before installing the game’s add-ons, apps, plug-ins and mods, warns the cybersecurity giant Kaspersky. According to researchers, Minecraft continues to attract the hacking community and a massive increase in infected, malware-laden […]

Over 750,000 Users Downloaded New Billing Fraud Apps From Google Play Store

Researchers have uncovered a new set of fraudulent Android apps in the Google Play store that were found to hijack SMS message notifications for carrying out billing fraud. The apps in question primarily targeted users in Southwest Asia and the Arabian Peninsula, attracting a total of 700,000 downloads before they were discovered and removed from […]