Google, apps that secretly collected data removed from the Play Store

Google announced that he has removed several apps which contained within them the software able to collect user data. All the apps collected information through software that would be traceable to a Panamanian company.

Google removes apps from the Play Store that secretly collected user data

An app contained several Muslim prayers, downloaded from over ten million users. Another showed speed cameras during car journeys. There was the one that read QR codes, and many other applications of varying popularity.

But they all had in common the malicious code that collected data about users, and then sent it to hackers. The researchers who uncovered this app have contacted Google, who has provided remove applications from the Play Store. But only after many users have downloaded them.

According to reports from the Wall Street Journal, the malicious code would be traceable to the Panama-based company called Measurement Systems. It would have paid, according to the researchers, several app developers to incorporate some lines of malicious code in their SDKs of applications. With the aim of extracting information from their devices: goal centered in at least 60 million smartphones. But it could be even more.

The SDK collected data regarding the precise location of the phone, email and telephone numbers. But also data from devices in the same WiFi network. All applications were removed from March 25, 2022, but if you have already downloaded them, you may not realize how dangerous they are. Find the complete list of applications at this address, along with an in-depth analysis of the malware threat.

Source

The Wall Street Journal