In case you missed it, Thailand’s Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (DES) and the National Cyber Security Agency (NCSA) have uncovered more than 200 apps wreaking havoc on victims’ phones.
DES and NCSA investigators released their findings on January 20 on DES’s official Facebook page. No one is safe – Android and iOS users around the world are vulnerable to accidentally downloading one of these malicious apps (h/t Bangkok Post).
More than 200 Android and iOS apps have been caught spreading malware
As previously mentioned, the DES, in collaboration with the NCSA, unveiled a list of 200 dangerous apps that siphoned money from victims’ accounts, stole personal information from quarries, and/or allowed hackers to remotely control targets’ devices.
The apps range from password managers and image editors to PDF scanners and instant messengers. See the gallery below for a complete list of malicious applications.
According to the report, translated into English via Facebook’s AI translation tool, DES Minister Chaiwut Thanakmanuson announced that there is an “outbreak” of dangerous malware in Android and iOS apps. The organization announced that it had launched a malware investigation after learning of a money theft case that “broadly” affected the public. (A group of crooks managed to extort a lot of money from victims who have malware-infected apps installed on their phones.)
Facebook’s AI translation tool is edgy, but from what we can glean from the English edition, it appears the DES is in talks with Google and Apple to remove these apps from the Play Store and App Store.
Meanwhile, DES urges the public to review its list of 200+ dangerous Android and iOS apps. If there are some of them on your device, delete them right away.
Be sure to check out our page with the best mobile antivirus apps to protect your device from hackers who want to wreak havoc on your phone.
