Google Play users need to watch out for this password-stealing Android app

Date:
Tue, 22 Mar 2022 16:08:35 +0000

Description:
Cybersecurity researchers uncover malicious Android app targeting Facebook login data, and possibly even photos

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Malicious actors have created an Android app which carried with it a password stealer, and possibly - an identity and biometrics stealer, as "added value".

Discovered by researchers at security firm Praedo , the Craftsart Cartoon Photo Tools promised to cartoonify a photo, but inorder to do so, users
needed to log into their Facebook account.

However whatever details users provided to the app, (which ironically did appear to sometimes do exactly what it promsied concerning catoonifying images) did not log them into Facebook, but was instead sent to the app devs own command and control (C2) server. TechRadar needs you!

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apps

Whats more, all of the images that people provide, do not get cartoonified on the endpoint itself, but are rather sent to a third-party server. Users have no way of knowing how long their images will reside on that server, what purpose theyll server, and if the devs will sell it on the black market.

When Praedo's analysts first spotted the app on the Play Store, it had more than 100,000 downloads, and was still available for download. Google does now seem to have removed it in the meantime, as the message on the link now says We're sorry, the requested URL was not found on this server.

Micro apps, with limited functionality, that also carry malware or infostealers are quite popular among threat actors, as they allow them to bypass Googles automated security gateways. Besides photo editors, QR code
and barcode scanners are popular features that are often abused. Read more

The Google Play Store is littered with dangerous trojans

Malware removal on Android: how to clean up your smartphone

That Android antivirus could actually be malware

Googles Play Store is perceived as a secure app repository, and people often lower their guard when downloading apps from that source. Security experts
are warning that despite the source, users should be wary when downloading apps, double-checking app reviews other potential red flags.

"Craftsart Cartoon Photo Tools", for example, has had an average score of
1.7, and hundreds of negative comments. Here's our rundown of the best firewalls right now

Via: BleepingComputer



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/news/google-play-users-need-to-watch-out-for-this-pa ssword-stealing-android-app/


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