A cyberattack has infected various popular apps, with malware that has the ability to perform actions on phones without the consent of their owners.
A malware named Goldoson was recently detected in about 60 legitimate apps from Google Play Store, accumulating more than 100 million downloads. This virus was hiding in a third-party library, a component used by developers to optimize application creation.
The threat, unveiled by researchers from the security company McAfeeis able to collect data about installed applications, history of Wi-Fi, Bluetooth devices and GPS locations.
Affected apps also abuse ad fraud by running ads in the background without users’ consent.
Google has been informed of these findings and has, in turn, notified developers of apps in violation of Play Store policies, asking them to update their apps to remain available. According to McAfee, some of the programs have been removed, while others have been updated.
Here is the list of applications affected by the malware and their situation on the Google Play Store (deleted or updated):
- L.POINT with L.PAY – Updated
- Swipe Brick Breaker – Removed
- Despesas e orçamento do Money Manager – Updated
- TMAP – Updated
- Lotte Cinema – Updated
- Genie Music – Updated
- Cultureland version – Updated
- GOM Player – Updated
- Megabox – Removed
- Pontuação AO VIVO Pontuação em tempo real – Updated
- Pikicast – Removed
- Compass 9: Smart Compass – Removed
- GOM Audio – Music, Lyrics Sync – Updated
- TV – All About Video – Updated
- Guninday – Updated
- Item mania – Removed
- LOTTE WORLD Magicpass – Updated
- Bounce Brick Breaker – Removed
- InfiniteSlice Infinite Slice – Removed
- Norae bang – Updated
- SomNote – Cute Notes App – Removed
- Korea Subway Info: Metroid – Updated
- GoodTVBible – Deleted
- Happy Mobile Happy Screen – Updated
- UBhind: Mobile Tracker Manager – Removed
- Mafu Driving Free – Removed
- Cantora WorldCup – Updated
- FSP Mobile – Removed
- Audio Recorder – removed
- Catmera – Removed
- Cultureland Plus – Updated
- Simple Air – Discontinued
- Lotteworld Seoul Sky – Updated
- Snake Ball Lover – Removed
- Jogar Geto – Removed
- Memorando de Memória – Deleted
- PB Stream – Removed
- Money Manager (Remove Ads) – Updated
- Inssaticon – Cute Emoticons – Removed
- eCloud – Updated
- SCinema – Updated
- Bilheteria – Updated
- Lotteworld Aquarium – Updated
- Lotteworld Water Park – Updated