US Northeast Airports Resume Operations After Telecom Outage Disrupts Thousands of Flights 
US Federal Register Drops Alibaba Qwen AI Search Tool 
Who should own the knowledge that underpins AI technology? 
Qualcomm Gains on $60B Amazon AI Chip Deal 
AI is supercharging money scams – here’s what you can do to protect yourself 
SoftBank Launches $11 Billion Bond Sale to Fund OpenAI Investment 
Westinghouse Targets $50 Billion Valuation in U.S. IPO 
Databricks to Invest $350 Million in Singapore AI Expansion 
China Reviews Broadcom Switch Use in State Data Centres 
Hyundai CEO Warns Chinese Automakers Could Disrupt US Market 
Scott Bessent Eyed as Trump’s New AI Czar 
Physicists zoom into the birth of cosmic rainstorms with new CERN study 
Guterres Urges Stronger Global AI Safeguards Ahead of UN Assembly 
NASA, Boeing Discuss Expanding Starliner Missions 
DOJ Will Investigate AI-Related Crimes, Attorney General Blanche Says 
Rosenblatt Starts Nokia at Buy on AI Networking Growth 
Burnham Eyes UK Leadership Role in AI Ahead of Trump Meeting 
Add as a preferred source on Google
Google has removed nine Android apps that were reportedly injected with a trojan that could have stolen Facebook passwords. However, the apps have been downloaded by millions before they were taken down from Google Play.
Anti-virus developer Doctor Web reported last week that it discovered 10 trojan apps – nine of which were available on the Play Store – with mechanisms to steal Facebook passwords from their users. Names of the nine Android apps include Processing Photo, App Lock Keep, Rubbish Cleaner, Horoscope Daily, Horoscope Pi, App Lock Manager, Lockit Master, Inwell Fitness, and PIP Photo. At the time of the Android trojan apps’ discovery, they reportedly had more than 5.8 million downloads, with Processing Photo having the most installs at more than 500,000.
Doctor Web found five versions of malware injected in the trojan Android apps. Three of them – Android.PWS.Facebook.13, Android.PWS.Facebook.14, and Android.PWS.Facebook.15 – were from native Android apps. Android.PWS.Facebook.17 and Android.PWS.Facebook.18 were reportedly using the Flutter framework for developing apps with cross-platform compatibility.
The same report noted that these apps were fully functional, thus, making them less suspicious. The cybersecurity firm added that some of the trojan-injected Android apps encouraged its users to log in with their Facebook accounts in exchange for ad-free services or to unlock more features. With many apps, both on Android and iOS, already ask or require Facebook logins, such a request may not immediately seem shady.
A standard Facebook login page was reportedly displayed where users would be able to enter their credentials, including their passwords. The Facebook web page was reportedly loaded into WebView, then a JavaScript from a command and control (C&C) server is loaded into the same WebView. “This script was directly used to highjack the entered login credentials,” Doctor Web explained. The login credentials were then sent to the C&C server. The trojan Android apps also reportedly acquired cookies from existing authorization that were sent to the attackers as well.
The apps are no longer available on the Play Store as of this writing, but some of them are still downloadable from third-party websites where Android users can sideload them. Google confirmed to ArsTechnica that the developers of the nine apps have been banned from the platform.
Photo by mohamed_hassan from Pixabay
