Malware Found In 9 Utility Apps That Were Available In The Play Store - Android

Check Point Research spotted malware in 9 utility apps, all of which are now removed from the Play Store. This malware dropper is called ‘Cast82’, and it’s a serious problem. This malware avoided detection by Google Play Protect This new malware has the ability to avoid detection by Google Play Protect. It can also change [...]

Read More...

The post Malware Found In 9 Utility Apps That Were Available In The Play Store appeared first on Android Headlines.

Check Point Research spotted malware in 9 utility apps, all of which are now removed from the Play Store. This malware dropper is called ‘Cast82’, and it’s a serious problem.

This malware avoided detection by Google Play Protect

This new malware has the ability to avoid detection by Google Play Protect. It can also change the payload dropped from a non-malicious payload to the AlienBot banker and MRAT:

To clarify, the AlienBot malware family is a Malware-as-a-Service (MaaS) for Android devices. “It allows a remote attacker to inject malicious code into legitimate financial applications”, states Check Point Research.

Thanks to this, the attacker can get access to victims’ accounts, and eventually even complete control of the device. By doing that, it can install apps on its own, without you knowing.

Does that sound scary? Well, it is. The attacker can do a lot of damage this way. Your phone would essentially be in his control. Google did remove all of those apps from the Play Store.

Serious malware has been spotted in 9 utility apps, you should uninstall them immediately!

Check Point Research reported its findings to the Android Security team, and Google confirmed that Clast82 apps have been removed. Those of you who are wondering what those apps are, here’s a list:

• Cake VPN (com.lazycoder.cakevpns)
• Pacific VPN (com.protectvpn.freeapp)
• eVPN (com.abcd.evpnfree)
• BeatPlayer (com.crrl.beatplayers)
• QR/Barcode Scanner MAX (com.bezrukd.qrcodebarcode)
• Music Player (com.revosleap.samplemusicplayers)
• tooltipnatorlibrary (com.mistergrizzlys.docscanpro)
• QRecorder (com.record.callvoicerecorder)
• eVPN (com.abcd.evpnfree)

Needless to say, if you have any of these apps installed on your smartphone, you should remove them immediately. The apps have been removed from the Play Store, but if you had them installed beforehand, they’re still on your phone.

Google has done a lot to ensure the security of its users. There are a number of security layers in place. Malware can crawl through all defenses, though. This is, unfortunately, one of those times.

The post Malware Found In 9 Utility Apps That Were Available In The Play Store appeared first on Android Headlines.