Unusual malware apps on millions of phones: Android and iOS affected

Security researchers have identified malware that has been downloaded millions of times. It has appeared in at least 85 Android and iOS apps. It’s about invisible advertising and click fraud. Google and Apple have since responded.

Android and iOS: New malware is spreading

Human Security researchers have found malware in a number of mobile apps, who wanted to make money with click fraud in an unusual way. The method called “Scylla” was used to bombard users with advertising – sometimes without even realizing it.

According to the analysis, the malware is in At least 75 Android apps were represented, plus “over” ten iOS apps. Together, they are said to have been downloaded over 13 million times, suggesting that the scammers were quite successful. Both Google and Apple, as the operators of the app stores, have been informed about the apps by Human Security. They are no longer available, so cannot do any additional damage. It should have acted to a large extent to games.

The most downloaded apps have names like “Super Hero-Save the world!”, “Arrow Coins” and “Parking Master”. These three apps alone were installed around 1.5 million times. The list also includes apps for which the number of downloads cannot be determined (source: Human Security).

In the video: How to protect your Android phone from malware.

Malware apps: annoying and invisible ads

If one of the infected apps is installed on the smartphone, users must expect advertising to suddenly pop up on the home screen, among other things. It’s less annoying, but also harmful invisible advertising in the background. Users get nothing from this. The malware simulates clicks on ads to earn money.