These 12 Android apps are spying on you, so remove them now

Your personal data and information is a hot commodity, and virtually every company and other entity with access to it is eager to monitor and sell it if possible. Threat actors also know this, and if your personal data is compromised, it can lead to extortion, extortion, access to bank accounts, or worse. With this in mind, researchers are continually investigating to discover apps that are performing malicious acts. A case in point is the recent discovery of 12 of his Android apps stealing data.

Just this week, ESET researchers identified 12 Android apps that shared similar code, which turned out to be malicious. These apps were disguised as messaging tools, except for one that purported to be a news app. All in the background he ran a remote access trojan (RAT) called VajraSpy. This kit, used by the Patchwork APT group, is[steal] In addition to contacts, files, call logs, and SMS messages, some implementations also allow you to extract WhatsApp and Signal messages, record calls, and take photos with the camera. ”

As for who was affected, the campaign primarily targeted devices in Pakistan and India, although malware was occasionally detected from Malaysia, and was provided by what appears to be a Pakistani developer. It has been. It is believed that this could be part of a romance scam, with the victim being approached through a honeytrap romance scam in which the campaigner feigns romantic or sexual interest in the target on another platform. , persuaded to download these trojanized apps. ”

You can read the full breakdown of apps in this report, but in short, check if you have the following Android apps installed on your device: MeetMe, Privee Talk, Let’s Chat, Quick Chat, GlowChat, Chit Chat, Hello Chat, TikTalk, Nidus, YohooTalk, Wave Chat or Rafaqat رفاقت. If any of these are present, you should remove the app and assess your security immediately. Additionally, while this may not affect most people, it should serve as a good warning that malware can sneak in anywhere. So before you start installing apps, make sure you know what you’re downloading.