Fake Covid-19 apps hit Android devices with malware

In the context of the global pandemic, it is expected that some threat actors will try to take advantage of the huge interest in COVID-19 news, leading to the creation of fake android apps.

Searching through our data, we found that a large percentage of coronavirus-themed apps are indeed malware. We examined the types of malwares commonly found in these apps, the risks they pose, the number of infected devices, and their geographic targets.

The Hunt

We selected Android Packages (APKs) by identifying apps containing “covid” or “coronavirus” in the package name, application label, filename, or download URL.

We found 2,293 apps, which we downloaded for further analysis. Out of those, 447 applications turned out to be malicious. A closer look at the data reveals more details – some malicious apps pose a greater risk than others, some are targeting specific countries, and the risk depends a lot on where the file is downloaded from.

Learn more about what we found by reviewing and downloading our paper below. 

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