While there are a staggering 4 million apps across Google Play and Apple’s AppStore, all it takes is one convincing fake for your phone to fall into the hands of bad actors.
In the last year, there has been a steady rise in the number of cyberattacks involving malware hiding in seemingly innocent smartphone apps. Most recently, a fake version of the social media app, ClubHouse, was reportedly spreading the BlackRock malware on Android phones, which steals credentials from 458 services – including Twitter, WhatsApp, Facebook, and Amazon.
While it may be getting harder to tell the difference between fake and real, there are a number of ways that security-conscious users can keep their most precious information safe.
<div>Recently there has been a boom in the number of users downloading malicious fake applications created by hackers.</div> <div><br />Attackers dupe individuals through a number of methods. Firstly by tricking them with well-constructed websites resembling popular apps such as Whatsapp and Clubhouse, users are then required to download these applications directly from these websites rather than official app stores, allowing attackers to bypass typical code signing requirements.<br /><br />While fake applications are well-designed clones, in some cases they can be easily identified by their lack of an SSL certificate and the use of HTTP prefix, rather than HTTPS when connected to the site. Paying close attention to this, and only downloading apps from official sources will keep user\’s phones and personal information out of the hands of bad actors.</div>