60 Android Applications with over 10 crore Downloads found to be Infected with Malware

New Delhi (India), 17th April 2023: The Google Play store has been compromised by a new spyware, putting 10 crore Android users at risk. The new Android malware known as ‘Goldoson’ has been found in 60 trustworthy apps, including Swipe Brick Breaker, Money Manager Expense & Budget, and L.POINT with L.PAY, each of which has received more than 10 million downloads.

The research team at McAfee has found the malware. The malware is capable of gathering a variety of private data, such as details about the user’s installed apps, WiFi and Bluetooth-connected gadgets, and GPS coordinates. In addition, the report claims that it has the ability to engage in ad fraud by secretly clicking advertisements.

According to a report by BleepingComputer, the developers unintentionally inserted a third-party library into all sixty of the programmes, which contains the harmful malware component. The library registers the device and gets its configuration from an obscured remote server when a user launches a Goldoson-containing app.

Researchers found that Goldoson had sufficient rights to obtain sensitive data in 10% of the apps, even in later versions of the OS( Operating Subsidiary). However, smartphones with Android 11 letter are better protected against unauthorised data gathering.