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Uninstall these apps NOW! More than 1.5 million Android users have downloaded spyware applications that collect and send data to China
More than 1.5 million Android users are at risk from Chinese hackers after two spyware apps were found on the Google Play Store.
Anyone with File Recovery & Data Recovery and File Manager apps are urged to manually remove them from devices as they scrape personal information.
This data includes contact lists, photos, videos and real-time user location.
Cybersecurity company Pradeo made the discovery and reported the malicious apps to Google – the tech giant has since removed them.
Security researchers have discovered two spyware apps on Google Play sending user data to China – and more than 1.5 million Android owners have downloaded them
Wang Tom is shown as the developer of both apps and mentions that they do not collect user data.
However, Pradeo found this to be incorrect after a deeper analysis.
Pradeo also revealed that the two apps hide their home screen icons, making them harder to find and uninstall.
The apps, which were updated at the end of June, also abuse the permissions the user approves during installation to restart the device and start it in the background.
And the publisher probably inflated the popularity of the apps to get more attention on Google Play, Beeping computer reports.
Pradeo found that the apps can scrape contact lists associated with email accounts, social networks and stored on the device.
Users’ photos, audio, and video are also vulnerable, as are their location, mobile country code, and network provider name.
Cybersecurity company Pradeo made the discovery and reported the malicious apps to Google. This data that is collected includes contact lists, photos, videos and real-time user location.
Google has removed the apps from the Google Play Store, but users must now manually remove the apps from devices
To remove the malicious apps, users need to open Settings and then select Apps to see the list of applications running on the device.
Earlier this month, Google warned Android users about a security threat that could steal their banking information.
The ThreatFabric security team discovered it and uses apps uploaded to the Google Play Store to infect phones with the rogue Anatsa banking Trojan.
Once installed on a device, the money-stealing bug can steal credentials that can be used to authorize users who log into mobile banking.
Hackers can then take control of someone’s account and access credentials, credit card details, bank balance and payment information, and transfer money with less chance of the cardholder noticing.
ThreatFabric explains, “Since transactions are initiated from the same device that target banking customers regularly use, it has been reported to be a major challenge for bank anti-fraud systems to detect.”
According to security researchers from the tech company who have been tracking the activity, the bug has more than 30,000 installs through this method alone.