Google Play Store Removes 60 Games Infected with Malware

The games, many of which were for children, were infected with a pornographic malware.

Some games have been taken off the Google Play Store on account of the malware

(Photo Courtesy: Google Play Store)

Google has kicked out nearly 60 games, many of which were for children, from its Play Store after a security research firm found they were infected with a pornographic malware.

Researchers from Israel-based Check Point Software Technologies reported that the malware, dubbed as "AdultSwine", displayed pornographic images that looked like advertisements designed to prompt users to download fake security software.

The users were then encouraged to click on other links they would have to pay for, CNET reported on Saturday. The tech giant acted immediately and kicked the apps out of its Play Store.

We have removed the apps from Play, disabled the developers’ accounts and will continue to show strong warnings to anyone that has installed them. We appreciate Check Point’s work to help keep users safe

Google

Google maintained that the issue does not exploit vulnerabilities in its Android security and that users' devices were not affected.

Also Read: Google Is Finally Clamping Down on Malware Apps From Play Store

The affected apps have been downloaded between three to seven million times, the researchers citing Google Play data, said.

According to reports, along with encouraging users to download scareware and pay for premium services, the 'AdultSwine' scareware also stole credentials.

The malware did this by contacting the developers' Command and Control server once the app was downloaded, sending data about the infected device and receiving instructions on what to do next.

According to Check Point, the instructions included displaying the bogus ads, scaring users to install fake security apps and charging victims for services they did not request or receive.

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