Popular Android Apps Collect Data Without Victims Knowing

A series of Android apps with no apparent connection to each other were collecting a lot of data from users without the victims suspecting or verifying this suspicious app.

According to an AppCensus study, all apps had one thing in common: using a software development kit (SDK) provided by an unknown company. Measurement Systemsreportedly based in Panama.

In exchange for using the SDK in app development, the company promised a monetization rate to anyone who downloads it “without sacrificing privacy and battery life.” However, permissions gained by these tools may involve obtaining important data.

What is the problem?

The Coulus Coelib library built into these apps was able to extract and send data such as geolocation, email, phone, IP address, SSID network number, and even your router’s MAC address to third-party servers.

In more serious cases, he could even access passwords, banking information, or other content on his Clipboard (saved in “Copy” or with the “Ctrl+C” shortcut).

Suspicious apps include Speed ​​Camera Radar, WiFi Mouse and QR & Barcode Scanner as well as tools aimed at the Muslim population such as an MP3 version of the Quran. A full list of applications and work around the exploited vulnerability can be found at this link.

Apps with the SDK were deprecated and removed from the Google Play Store at the end of 2021, with the vast majority of them returning to the platform without additional code. However, older devices or devices without automatic updates may still contain questionable versions of the utilities, resulting in more than 45 million downloads in total.