11 apps have been found containing code that can spy on us thoroughly, but there are fears that there are many more in circulation.
Stores are full of infected apps , but not all infections are the same and dangerous in the same way. From the United States, to be precise from the Wall Street Journal , a rather disturbing news arrives: several Android apps on the Google Play Store contain a code that can spy on users.
The code is an SDK , that is a ” Software Development Kit “. These are pre- compiled code packages that can be inserted into already developed apps, to provide additional functions or, as in this case, to collect information. SDKs are very popular for advertising purposes , on thousands and thousands of apps around the world.
The main problem with this code is that it is officially an advertising tracker , but it was developed by Measurement Systems S. de RL , a limited liability company headquartered in Panama that is mainly engaged in cyber intelligence and, among its customers, it also has the US Department of Defense.
The researchers personally found 11 apps containing the malicious SDK code, but there are supposed to be dozens of them in circulation:
- Speed Camera Radar
- Al-Moazin Lite (Prayer Times)
- Wi-Fi Mouse (remote control PC)
- QR & Barcode Scanner (developed by AppSource Hub)
- Qibla Compass – Ramadan 2022
- Simple weather & clock widget (developed by Difer)
- Handcent Next SMS-Text with MMS
- Smart Kit 360
- Al Quran MP3 – 50 Reciters & Translation Audio
- Full Quran MP3 – 50+ Languages & Translation Audio
- Audiosdroid Audio Studio DAW
Maryam's Blog 