The Google Play Store teems with fake cryptocurrency swap applications, report our colleagues at The Next Web. To capture your Bitcoins, these dummy applications do not hesitate to copy the most popular applications, like MyEtherWallet. According to many researchers in cybersecurity, the phenomenon also affects, to a lesser extent, the App Store!
At the end of 2017, the price of Bitcoin, the mother of cryptocurrencies, soared to flirt with 20 000 €. Intrigued by this ephemeral and phenomenal growth, many people decided to invest. To convert traditional currencies into Bitcoin, Ether or Litecoin, they naturally turned to Android apps on the Google Play Store. We also offer you a top 10 of the best Android apps to pay and invest in Bitcoin.
Malicious cryptocurrency apps are lurking on the Google Play Store!
Banking, investment buying and selling cryptocurrency applications have quickly become the most popular of the Google Play Store. "Users are increasingly using apps to manage their bank accounts and investments," said Lexi Sydow, marketing analyst at App Annie. The success of cryptocurrency applications like MyEtherWallet quickly caught the attention of hackers.
According to cybersecurity researcher Lukas Stafanko, many malicious cryptocurrency applications abound on the Google Play Store. By taking advantage of the notoriety of the original application, the clones manage to lull the mistrust of the users. Once installed on your Android smartphone, these applications will steal your credentials and seize your Bitcoin, Ether, Litecoin and others.
According to the researchers, it took Google security teams up to 4 days to identify and remove a copy of MyEtherWallet from the Play Store last January. During this time, the malicious copy would have been downloaded up to 500 times. According to a report by the security firm RiskIQ, 272 applications blacklisted by specialists are still available on the Google Play Store. The App Store is not left behind: at the end of December, a fraudulent copy of MyEtherWallet became the 3rd most downloaded application in the finance category. According to our colleagues at TechCrunch, 3000 iOS users have installed the application before Apple reacts!
The security defenses of the Google Play Store regularly leave malware and other fraudulent applications. Recently, Android Andr / HiddnAd-AJ malware has even been downloaded more than 500,000 times on the Google Play Store. If you want to protect yourself from hackers and malware, we'll show you how to spot fake apps on the Google Play Store and App Store.