210 apps on Google Play used by 150 million users infected with malware

Up to 150 million Android users may have downloaded apps from the Google Play store that had been infected with malware, security researchers have warned.

Researchers at the security firm Check Point discovered a type of adware hidden in 210 different apps that were available on the Google Play store. Adware is a type of malware that infects a device in order to display spammy advertising that makes money for the crooks behind the malware.

However, according to Check Point, the adware was also capable of a number of malicious actions, including the ability to connect to a remote server to download further malware, or to direct users to potentially dangerous websites, such as phishing websites. The adware was also capable of hiding the icon of the app that contained it, making it harder for Android users to remove the app. However, the apps have presently only been known to serve up spammy advertising.

The app also registers itself to run each time the user booted up their Android device. The spammy adverts from the infected apps has resulted in a number of negative reviews on the Google Play store.

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Despite the adware being hidden in 210 apps (with around 150 million downloads between them,) further research has also shown that it may not have been the app developers at fault. The app developers had used an advertising development kit from a third party that was responsible for injecting the malicious code into their apps.

Many of the apps are simulation based games, which resulted in this adware campaign being dubbed SimBad. Researchers at Check Point alerted Google to the issue, who promptly removed the affected apps from the Play store.

However removing the app from Google Play does not remove it from a user’s device. If user’s have an infected app on their device, it is recommended to uninstall it straight away. A list of the most popularly downloaded apps is below.

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This is hardly the first time Google Play has had to remove apps harbouring malware from their store, with the total number of apps removed from Play since its inception totalling well over 500,000. Of course we recommend Android users only install apps from the official Google Play store because these apps are vetted, but incidents like this demonstrates that there is always still a risk.

Snow Heavy Excavator Simulator (10,000,000 downloads)
Hoverboard Racing (5,000,000 downloads)
Real Tractor Farming Simulator (5,000,000 downloads)
Ambulance Rescue Driving (5,000,000 downloads)
Heavy Mountain Bus Simulator 2018 (5,000,000 downloads)
Fire Truck Emergency Driver (5,000,000 downloads)
Farming Tractor Real Harvest Simulator (5,000,000 downloads)
Car Parking Challenge (5,000,000 downloads)
Speed Boat Jet Ski Racing (5,000,000 downloads)
Water Surfing Car Stunt (5,000,000 downloads)
Transport Truck Driver 2018 (5,000,000 downloads)
Volumen booster & Equalizer (5,000,000 downloads)
Prado Parking Adventure (5,000,000 downloads)
Oil Tanker Transport Truck Driver (5,000,000 downloads)
Monster Truck Demolition (1,000,000 downloads)

A full list can be seen on the Check Point website here.