Google blocks thousand of developer account on play store to block malware

 Google reported on Thursday that it had stopped 1.43 million apps that violated its policies from being launched, indicating that it had a busy 2022 keeping its Play application store free of crooks.

The business attributed the outcomes to a combination of new and better security features and policy upgrades, such as demanding extra identity verification procedures (such as phone number and email) before developers may join the well-known ecosystem.

The advantages of Google's ongoing efforts in machine learning (ML) systems and app review procedures were also highlighted. According to Google, these investments enabled it block 173,000 criminal accounts and stop more than $2 billion in fraudulent and abusive transactions.

The business stated in a blog post that it "continued to partner with [software developer kits] SDK providers to limit sensitive data access and sharing, improving the privacy posture for over one million apps on Google Play." "Over the past three years, we have prevented about 500,000 submitted apps from unnecessarily accessing sensitive permissions," says the Android platform's developer outreach and education programme.

With the assistance of the company's app security enhancement programme, a service offered to Google Play app developers to enhance the security of their apps, developers were able to resolve almost 500,000 security flaws in about 300,000 applications.

The business also established the Google Play Developer Community pilot programme, where developers can share advice and best practises on creating secure apps, and expanded its Helpline project, which provides phone help to developers.

The statement stated, "As the Android ecosystem grows, it's vital for us to work closely with the developer community to ensure they have the resources, expertise, and support to create dependable apps that respect user privacy and data security.

In conjunction with ESET, Lookout, and Zimperium in 2019, Google announced the formation of the App Defence Alliance. More recently, McAfee and Trend Micro have joined as partners.

The business has also worked to improve the Play Integrity API, which was created to shield user apps and games from potentially dangerous and dishonest interactions. This year, the firm wants to increase access to automatic integrity protection.

Persistent Google Play Malware Breaches

The market for rogue Google Play applications and app-takeover tools is booming despite Google's increased security measures.

The recent deployment of the 100 million times downloaded Goldoson virus is evidence that malicious actors are still able to get past defences.

By clicking advertising in the background without the user's knowledge or agreement, Goldoson, an Android-based malware programme that researchers at McAfee Labs discovered and named, can carry out a number of evil deeds.

Researchers in December 2022 uncovered the Android spyware known as the banking Trojan Godfather, which had been downloaded more than 10 million times as a legitimate software from the Google Play store.

It was difficult for Google Play to remove sophisticated malware like SharkBot, which was concealed in apps that were passed off as antivirus software. SharkBot used techniques like Domain Generation Algorithm (DGA) and geofencing capacity to get over Google's security measures.

Updated Terms of Service Push Privacy

The new Terms of Service (ToS) for Play, which declare Google may delete "harmful" applications from users' devices, are currently the subject of discussion on whether they go too far.

Some privacy experts are questioning the 130-word section on malware protection because they feel the language is too ambiguous and because the ToS does not require Google to notify users when it makes such deletions.

As part of its Target Level API requirements strategy to increase user security, Google also declared back in April that Play would conceal out-of-date apps that don't support the most recent Android features.