Spies are getting malware into the Google Play Store

Posted on Wednesday, April 29 2020 @ 11:50 CEST by Thomas De Maesschalck
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A new piece from Wired highlights how nation-state actor spies are getting malware into Google's Play Store. At this year's digital version of the annual Security Analyst Summit, security researchers from Kaspersky will reveal details about a hacking campaign they call PhantomLance. This campaign has succeeded in getting malware into the Play Store and it seems to primarily target users in Vietnam, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and India.

Interestingly, PhantomLace seems to target a very small number of people, and is believed to be the work of hackers working for the Vietnamese government. The goal here seems to be domestic surveillance as well as spying on Southeast Asian neighbors:
Unlike most of the shady apps found in Play Store malware, Kaspersky's researchers say, PhantomLance's hackers apparently smuggled in data-stealing apps with the aim of infecting only some hundreds of users; the spy campaign likely sent links to the malicious apps to those targets via phishing emails. "In this case, the attackers used Google Play as a trusted source," says Kaspersky researcher Alexey Firsh. "You can deliver a link to this app, and the victim will trust it because it’s Google Play."

Kaspersky says it has tied the PhantomLance campaign to the hacker group OceanLotus, also known as APT32, widely believed to be working on behalf of the Vietnamese government. That suggests the PhantomLance campaign likely mixed spying on Vietnam's Southeast Asian neighbors with domestic surveillance of Vietnamese citizens.
Google says that they have taken action against all the apps that were identified by Kaspersky.


About the Author

Thomas De Maesschalck

Thomas has been messing with computer since early childhood and firmly believes the Internet is the best thing since sliced bread. Enjoys playing with new tech, is fascinated by science, and passionate about financial markets. When not behind a computer, he can be found with running shoes on or lifting heavy weights in the weight room.



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