Anti-malware software apps on Google Play Store stole personal data of around 15,000 Android users. Google has removed the app from the Play Store after it recognized the violation.
Anti-malware software apps on Google Play Store stole personal data of around 15,000 Android users. Google removed the app from the Play Store after it recognized the violation. This news comes from a report by Check Point Research, in which three researchers found that hackers used Sharkbot Android Stealer software under the guise of an antivirus application to steal users' passwords, bank details and other personal information. All the apps on Play Store have been downloaded more than 15,000 times.
Malware seen for the first time
As per the Check Point report, this malware implements a geofencing feature and piracy technology, which makes it different from the rest of the malware. It also uses something called the Domain Generation Algorithm (DGA), which is rarely used in the Android malware world.
These apps stole personal data of users on Google Play Store
These six malware apps, resembling antivirus apps, infected more than 15,000 users with Sharkbot Android malware, which steals credentials and banking information. During the research, it found about 1,000 IP addresses of devices. Most of the victims were from Italy and the United Kingdom.
These are the six apps that were found to be corrupt and were later removed from the Google Play Store. The report states that Sharkbot doesn't target every potential victim, but only a select few, using the geo-fencing feature to identify and ignore users from China, India, Romania, Russia, Ukraine or Belarus. targets. The hackers are transferred when the user inputs the credentials in these windows.
