Auch! Google Play Removes App With 500,000 Downloads After Catching It Harvest User Data

Mike_BD

A popular Android app with over 500,000 downloads was removed from Google Play earlier today after security researchers detected that it was hosting a dangerous strain of malware.

The malicious component stealthily used the app to collect personal data from unsuspecting users and send it to a remote server that appears to be in Russia.

To be more specific, the malware was noticed harvesting users’ contacts before dispatching them to the perpetrator’s server. Subsequently, users would be signed-up for expensive subscriptions and services, potentially through the contact info they unwittingly provided to the app-malware symbiote.

The app, called Color Message, was used to personalize text messaging in various ways, such as sending emojis through SMS/MMS, blocking spam, customizing app themes and encrypting messages.

Entire article can be found here