Not all apps on Google Play are safe: 10 apps contain Trojans

Android users, please take note! Although application stores like Google Play have set up a security level mechanism to prevent the spread of malicious apps, it cannot completely prevent hacker attacks. Because security researchers have discovered that there are at least 10 malicious apps in the Google Play store, and these malware have built-in downloaders for the banking Trojan Anubis, which can be triggered at any time to steal users' bank account passwords.

APPs with Trojan Downloaders

In order to evade the defense mechanism of the Google Play Store, hackers will not upload the malware itself to the store at the beginning, but first upload a seemingly normal application, which will contain a Trojan downloader. Compared with malware, the downloader has a much higher chance of evading security checks.

Google Play Store users should be careful

According to security researchers, once the victim successfully installs the malicious downloader, the application will download the banking Trojan Anubis from the C&C server. The Trojan will disguise itself as a normal application in the name of Google Protect and ask the user to grant read and write permissions. Once the user successfully authorizes, the Trojan will record the user's keyboard behavior, which is different from most previous banking Trojans.

Initially, this series of malicious apps mainly targeted Turkish-speaking users, but as the botnet spreads, these malicious apps have now covered more than 30 countries and regions. Since hackers put malware in the Google Play store, it will undoubtedly be a disaster for some users who trust the official store review mechanism. Therefore, it is recommended that Android users pay attention to security before and after downloading apps, and be cautious in providing authorization to prevent risks.