Sockbot Malware Found in Eight Android Apps Published on Google Play

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Apps infected with malware have once again made it to the Google Play store, and security company Symantec warns that they’ve been installed on at least 600,000 devices.

The security vendor explained in a detailed analysis of the malware that apps were infected with Sockbot, which sets up a SOCKS proxy on each device and waits for commands from the author.

Symantec says the primary objective of the apps was to generate ad revenue, but if needed, the malware could easily turn the infected device into a member of a larger botnet allowing even for DDoS attacks.

Eight different applications posted on the Google Play have been confirmed as infected with Sockbot, and all of them have already been removed by Google. And yet, Symantec estimates that between 600,000 and 2.6 million devices have downloaded the infected apps.

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