Millions May Have Picked Up Malware at Google Play Store

As many as 40 million Android users might have downloaded apps that were infected with the FalseGuide malware, security research firm Check Point warned on Monday.

The oldest of the infected apps could have been uploaded to Google Play as long ago as last November, having successfully remained hidden for five months, while the newest may have been uploaded as recently as the beginning of this month. The malware has infected nearly 50 guide apps for popular games

The makers of the FalseGuide malware likely wanted it to masquerade as game guides, which are popular and actually build on the monetary success of their related apps. They require very little development time and are limited in feature implementations. 

Google so far has responded in the only way it can , by removing the infected apps from Google Play. However, given that some of these guides date back to early November, it appears that the company clearly failed to protect its customers.

At this point there may be little users can do except reset their devices and be more cautious of what they download. However, those steps might not be enough to purge the malware.

Another  malware named ‘Judy’ was found in over 41 Google Play Store apps. By far, ‘Judy’ has already infected around 8.5 Million to 36.5 Million Google Play Store users.

Security Research firm ‘Check Point’ discovered the Judy malware first and informed Google of the same. Though Google has started removing the infected apps from the Play store, the malware affected apps have already reached a count of more than 4.5 Million downloads.

So what exactly is ‘Judy’ malware, and how does it work?  

The idea with Judy malware is to create false clicks on ads, and thus boost revenue of these companies. Essentially the Judy malware bypassed Google Play Store’s protection, and the hackers created a “seemingly benign bridgehead app, meant to establish connection to the victim’s device, and insert it into the app store.”

 Judy Malware is believed to have been created by a South Korean firm named Kiniwini. Essentially an ‘auto-clicking adware’, the malware is aimed at making money for the developers by auto-clicking on ads through the infected devices. The Malware spread comes as a direct threat to Google’s reputation as the malware has been able to operate on its Google Play Store undetected, for more than a year.