Cyber attackers have once again set their sights on Android devices, aiming to deceive unsuspecting users into divulging personal and financial details.
Users are being advised to promptly uninstall compromised apps linked to a new scam that involves hackers engaging in an advanced form of advertising fraud. By inundating apps with malicious advertisements, hackers can not only slow down the devices they have infiltrated but also profit from their actions.
The recent assault, dubbed ‘SlopAds’, was uncovered by the Satori Threat Intelligence and Research Team. In their investigation, researchers identified 224 Android apps affected by this scheme, which had collectively garnered over 38 million downloads from the Google Play Store.
According to security experts from the team, the operation known as SlopAds involved a network of 224 apps that had been downloaded more than 38 million times globally. These apps utilized steganography to conceal their fraudulent activities and created hidden WebViews to direct traffic to sites owned by the threat actors, resulting in fake ad impressions and clicks. The operation’s theme is centered around artificial intelligence, hence the name.
Google has successfully removed all the problematic apps to prevent further users from falling victim to ad fraud. Anyone who may have unknowingly downloaded apps containing the SlopAds bug will receive notifications prompting them to delete the apps.
To protect against future attacks, Android users are encouraged to ensure that Google’s Play Protect feature within the app store remains activated. This feature can identify potentially corrupted applications before installation and block any subsequent apps displaying behavior associated with SlopAds.
Ad fraud not only impacts device users but also legitimate advertisers and developers as hackers deceive networks into approving their infected ads. Google emphasizes that ad fraud, characterized by deceptive ad interactions to simulate user interest, leads to invalid traffic and long-term damage to trust in the mobile advertising ecosystem.
Android users are advised to act quickly and remove any flagged apps to safeguard their devices against potential threats.