Google Play Protect can now find malicious Android apps that try to evade detection
Google already scans 125 billion apps daily to protect Android users from malware. If it finds an app that might be problematic, Google Play Protect can send you a warning, prevent you from installing said app, or, if already installed, it can disable the app automatically. The bad guys have their own plan to evade detection by changing features on apps in third-party app stores to hide their true identity as malware. This tricks users into sideloading what they think is a clean app but is malware in reality.
Another ploy being used by cyber criminals is to trick users using malicious apps, messaging apps, or emails into revealing confidential info such as passwords, credit card PINs, and personal banking info. The trick here is that the attackers play on users' emotions.
For example, if you received a text that appeared to come from your bank about a large withdrawal that it is looking to verify, many would be tricked into clicking on a link, revealing pertinent account information and more due to the fear of getting ripped off. Ironically, in this case, the fear of getting ripped off could actually lead someone into getting, well, ripped off. In this example, the text didn't really come from the bank and was sent just to scare the user into revealing personal data.
Google Play Protect will do a code-level real-time app scan to help catch dangerous apps disguised to escape detection
Google Play Protect aims to protect you outside of Google Play by checking your Android device for harmful apps regardless of where you installed them from. And Google has improved Play Protect starting this past week. According to a release from the tech giant, when conducting a real-time check of an app being installed by an Android user, Google previously relied on existing scanning intelligence, on-device machine learning, and similarity comparisons with infected apps to find apps loaded with malware.
To make Google Play Protect a stronger security force, when installing an app that has never been scanned before, it will now recommend that a real-time app scan be conducted at the code-level. After the analysis is completed, the Android user will be told that the app is safe to install or if it is potentially harmful and is blocked. This will help prevent users from installing an app that uses various methods, including AI, to escape detection and steal your personal data.
Google says, "Our security protections and machine learning algorithms learn from each app submitted to Google for review and we look at thousands of signals and compare app behavior. Google Play Protect is constantly improving with each identified app, allowing us to strengthen our protections for the entire Android ecosystem."
The enhanced version of Google Play Protect has started rolling out to all Android devices that use Google Play services. The rollout started in India and will broaden to include all markets in the months ahead.
Google notes that its multi-layered system keeps Android users safe from malware and unwanted software thanks to Google Play Protect, monthly security updates, app permission controls, and Safe Browsing. Google and Gmail also protect users from phishing and spam. As the company said last week, "Keeping Android users safe is a top priority. We are committed to working with our ecosystem partners and app developer community to improve the security of apps and combat malware and unwanted software to make Android even more secure."
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