Skip to main content

Google teams up with security companies to catch bad apps before they hit the Play Store


It’s calling the partnership the ‘App Defense Alliance’
Google announced today that it’s teaming up with three security companies to help identify malicious apps before they’re published on the Play Store and can potentially do harm to Android users. The company is calling this partnership the App Defense Alliance.
Android is on over 2.5 billion devices, according to Google, and the company says that makes the platform “an attractive target” for abuse. That abuse can take the form of hidden malware or secret code designed to spy and siphon away sensitive user data. This seems to be particularly true of the Play Store — over the past year or so, Google has had to take action against multiple developers for releasing apps on the Play Store using scammy ad practices. By forming the App Defense Alliance, Google is enlisting security companies ESET, Lookout, and Zimperium to help scan for bad apps before they hit the Play Store in the first place.
Google already builds Google Play Protect, its malware protection service, right into Android. The company says it also uses Play Protect to scan “billions” of apps every day on the Play Store. So it seems like Google should already be catching these bad apps — but apparently, the problem is big enough that the company felt the need to bring in some reinforcements. In theory, with more companies helping scan Play Store apps, there’s a better chance you won’t accidentally download one of the bad offenders on your Android device.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ex-Twitter employees accused of spying for Saudi Arabia

Two former employees of Twitter have been charged in the US with spying for Saudi Arabia. The charges, unsealed on Wednesday in San Francisco, allege that Saudi agents sought personal information about Twitter users including known critics of the Saudi government. Court documents  named the two as Ahmad Abouammo, a US citizen, and Ali Alzabarah, from Saudi Arabia. A third person, Saudi citizen Ahmed Almutairi, is also accused of spying. The New York Times says it is the first time that Saudi citizens have been charged with spying inside the United States. What are the charges? The charges allege Mr Almutairi acted as an intermediary between the two Twitter employees and Saudi officials. Ahmad Abouammo appeared in a Seattle court on Wednesday and was remanded in custody pending another hearing due on Friday. He is also charged with falsifying documents and making false statements to the FBI. Mr Abouammo is said to have left his job as a media partnership manager ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Babuk ransomware is back, uses new version on corporate networks

  After announcing their exit from the ransomware business in favor of data theft extortion, the Babuk gang appears to have slipped back into their old habit of encrypting corporate networks. The criminals are currently using a new version of their file-encrypting malware and have moved the operation to a new leak site that lists a handful of victims. Gang’s still in the game The Babuk ransomware group became known at the beginning of the year but the gang says that their attacks had started in mid-October 2020, targeting companies across the world and demanding ransoms typically between $60,000 and $85,000 in bitcoin cryptocurrency. In some cases, victims were asked hundreds of thousands for data decryption. One of their most publicized victims is the Washinton DC’s Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). This attack likely pushed the threat actor into announcing its retirement from the ransomware business only to adopt another extortion model that did not include encryption....
Post a Comment
Read more