Alert if you have Android: 90 malicious apps detected with more than 5 million downloads

Be very careful if you are an Android user because 90 applications from the Play Store have just been identified that are infected with powerful malware. They have already been downloaded 5.5 million times around the world.

Taking into account that smartphones have become an extension of people, the applications found within them already manage your entire life, from your entertainment, finances, work or even your diet or sports.

There is always a perfect app waiting for you and, as you well know, downloading them from official stores like Google Play should be synonymous with security, but the reality is something different. Recently, it has been discovered that 90 malicious applications have sneaked into the Google store, managing to be downloaded 5.5 million times before being detected.

Designed with the idea of ​​infiltrating users’ devices, the cybercriminals behind these apps know perfectly well how to deceive both users and the platforms. They managed to pass the security controls of the Play Store without any problem, making their applications appear legitimate and ending up on millions of mobile phones around the world.

“Once installed, Anatsa extracts confidential banking credentials and financial information from global financial applications. It achieves this by using overlay and accessibility techniques, allowing it to intercept and collect data discreetly,” comment the cybersecurity experts behind it. they discovered.

Not all names of affected Android applications have been given

But, luckily, and as mentioned before, there are always cybersecurity experts ready to stop them. This time, Zscaler ThreatLabz identified the 90 malicious applications, discovering that many of them were what are known as “droppers.” These apps serve as vehicles to install malware on user devices and families of malware known as Joker, Adware, Facestealer, Anatsa and Coper.

Although a small percentage of the detected applications facilitated the installation of Anatsa and Coper, these are worrying figures due to how dangerous they are. “Anatsa is a well-known banking ‘malware’ for Android that targets applications from more than 650 financial institutions, mainly in Europe,” comment the experts.

For example, Applications such as PDF Reader & File Manager and QR Reader & File Manager, linked to Anatsa, were downloaded more than 70,000 times.

However, The report does not reveal the names of the other 88 applications. What is known is that 39% of them belonged to the Tools category, 20% to Personalization, around 13% to Photography and the rest to Productivity, Health and Fitness, Communication, Art and Design, and Entertainment.

Finally, comment that among the affected countries are: EUnited States, United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Finland, South Korea and Singapore. “As the mobile threat landscape continues to evolve, it is crucial that organizations implement proactive security measures to safeguard their systems and sensitive financial information,” they conclude.

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Tags: Smartphones, Malware, Apps, Cybersecurity