New warning for millions of Play Store users.
Google is on a mission to make Android and its billions of users more secure as the platform closes the gap with the iPhone. Our latest innovations include screening for risky Play Store apps and AI-powered live threat detection that alerts you as soon as dangerous malware appears on your phone. Yes, Google has come under fire for some of these changes. Samsung is similar and even more advanced. But despite Epic’s lawsuit and new Justice Department threats to its business model, it’s clear that the Android app landscape has changed.
Since its early days, sideloading apps from outside the Play Store has been one of the most fundamental differences with the iPhone. It’s this change in direction that probably frustrates Android’s die-hard fan base more than anything else. This month, in response to Epic’s efforts to make such installations easier, Google Vice President Dave Kleidermacher said, “Google and the security community need to know more about the real risks associated with downloading apps directly from the web.” “We have been warning users for years.”
And now Google is painting an even bleaker picture regarding the scale of the threat. “Based on our analysis of major fraudulent malware families that exploit sensitive privileges, we found that over 95% of installations come from Internet sideloading sources,” the company warned in a new blog post.
This permission is related to permissions that are “often exploited for financial fraud,” allowing malware to “intercept one-time passwords via SMS and notifications, and monitor on-screen content.” means. Their specific permissions are:
- RECEIVE_SMS
- READ_SMS
- BIND_Notification
- accessibility
Enhanced protection in operation
Google has just expanded its enhanced anti-fraud campaign to India, following a highly successful pilot in Singapore that “blocked nearly 900,000 high-risk installs.” These new pilots strengthen Google Play Protect, the Play Store defense system that protects users from dangerous apps installed from within the Play Store and elsewhere. “To better protect our users in India from new malicious internet sideloading apps, we launched Google Play Protect Real-time Scanning.” has already been identified. ”
While Play Protect is continually updated as new threats are reported and confirmed, our enhanced products aim to eradicate such dangers at their source before they are reported. “This enhanced fraud prevention feature analyzes and automatically blocks app installations that may use sensitive permissions that are frequently exploited for financial fraud…Users in India If any of these four permissions are disabled when you try to install an application from an Internet sideloading source, Play Protect will notify the user and automatically block the installation. .”
Don’t get me wrong, these pilots are supposed to be a sign of things happening to everyone, everywhere. Permission abuse remains a nightmare for Android users. Just last month, a new report warned that 50 of the “most popular apps in the Google Play Store” appear to have “no restrictions” when it comes to permissions. Google’s latest innovation is, above all else, a crackdown on privilege abuse, something that’s been long overdue.
“Dangerous” permissions highlighted in the report include location tracking, access to cameras, contacts, and the phone itself. Google’s enhanced protections are less broad-based, but focused on economic abuses that require user credentials and one-time passcodes.
Google warns app developers: “Now is a good time to review the permissions your app is requesting and make sure you’re following developer best practices.” This latest pilot will begin next month and “will gradually roll out to all Android devices with Google Play Services in India.” Google says, “Building a truly secure mobile experience is a collaborative effort. “We are committed to working with governments, industry partners and other stakeholders to improve safety for our customers.”
