Industry collaborates to combat DDoS malware
Google has deleted around 300 infected apps from the Android Play Store that were the basis for the “WireX” botnet.
This had carried out DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attacks using the compromised devices. This strike against criminal activity was possible thanks to the cooperation of several IT industry giants with security experts. However, the case also underlines that Google's official Android marketplace is not as secure as the company would like.
Size thanks to Play Store
The “WireX” botnet was first noticed by security researchers at the beginning of August and grew quickly by the middle of the month.
At peak times, over 100,000 infected devices were involved in attacks. The fact that the Android botnet “WireX” grew so large relatively quickly is probably due to the fact that the associated malware also found its way into the Play Store.
“We have identified around 300 apps related to the issue, blocked them from the Play Store and are in the process of removing them from all affected devices,”
says Google.
The relatively quick action against “WireX” and the associated apps was only possible due to broad cooperation between companies. The two big ones Content delivery provider Akamai and Cloudflare have observed anomalies and for analysis with security specialists such as Flashpoint and RiskIQ worked together.
The analysis has shown that the botnet malware is also widely distributed via the official Play Store. Apparently harmless apps from various areas, such as a media player or a ringtone app, were contaminated.
Uncertainty at Google
“WireX” is unpleasant for Google in that the example shows once again that the official Android marketplace is not as well protected against malware as the company would like.
Google uses, among other things, its own antivirus scanner called Bouncer to keep pests out of the Play Store.
Nevertheless, Google seems to have to struggle noticeably more often with infected apps finding their way into the official Android marketplace than is the case with Apple and its App Store for iOS.
Preview image source: ymgerman / Shutterstock.com
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