Russian software hidden in thousands of Android apps

A Russian company that develops software for app push notifications has secretly pretended to be American. Pushwoosh, as it’s called, works with thousands of apps, including US military apps. It is not known whether software was actually abused.

Russian software in apps

Thousands of well-known apps are using a piece of Russian software without knowing it, headlines Reuters. Pushwoosh sells code that makes it easy for companies to develop custom notifications for their apps. For example, apps can send targeted notifications when people are at a certain location. Pushwoosh pretended to be an American company, but it now turns out to be Russian.

This is the most controversial one because Pushwoosh is used in many well-known apps, including those used internally by the US military. In theory, it is possible that Pushwoosh has built in a loophole through which it can monitor the ins and outs of the US military, among other things. It could then pass that important information on to the Russian government. It is not known whether the developers of Pushwoosh have actually created such a loophole.

Related articles

“Proud to be Russian”

In an email to Reuters, Pushwoosh founder Max Konev denied that his company’s Russian heritage was being masked. “I am proud to be Russian and I would never hide this,” he wrote, according to Reuters. In addition, Konev states that his company “has no connection whatsoever with the Russian government.”

Still, privacy experts at Reuters respond that the code does pose a risk, especially given Russia’s reputation for cyber espionage. Google declined to comment on the news. Reuters further states that the US government could impose sanctions on Pushwoosh to protect companies that use the software.

In the first weeks and months after the start of the war in Ukraine, many Western companies stopped their activities in Russia. Telegram was previously accused of serving as a spreader of fake news for Russia.

Want to stay up to date with the latest Android security news? Then download our Android app and follow us via Google News and on Telegram, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Thanks for the tip Ronald!