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Google whacks 'malicious' Android apps by hitting its remote kill switch

Google is purging malware from Android handsets remotely -- dozens of dodgy apps were discovered on the Android Market last week, with potentially nasty exploits to access personal data.

Stuart Dredge
2 min read
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Google has moved fast to protect Android users from dozens of malware apps discovered on its Android Market store last week. The apps, which used exploits to access the personal data of anyone who installed them, have been removed from the store, and are being remotely uninstalled from people's handsets.

Google outlined its actions in a blog post on Saturday, saying that "within minutes" of being alerted to the dodgy apps last Tuesday, it identified and removed them. The company takes pains to reassure users that any problems caused will have affected a minority of users.

"The applications took advantage of known vulnerabilities which don't affect Android versions 2.2.2 or higher," writes Android security lead Rich Cannings.

"For affected devices, we believe that the only information the attacker(s) were able to gather was device-specific (IMEI/IMSI, unique codes which are used to identify mobile devices, and the version of Android running on your device). But given the nature of the exploits, the attacker(s) could access other data, which is why we've taken a number of steps to protect those who downloaded a malicious application."

That includes suspending the developers and calling the cops on them, but also using Android's remote application removal feature to delete them from users' devices automatically. Google is also pushing out an Android Market security update to all affected devices to undo the exploits used by the apps, so no more data can be accessed. Those affected users are being emailed by Google with details of the fix.

"We are adding a number of measures to help prevent additional malicious applications using similar exploits from being distributed through Android Market and are working with our partners to provide the fix for the underlying security issues," writes Cannings, while reminding Android users to always check the list of permissions when installing a new app.

It's comforting to see Google acting swiftly in cases like this, although it also raises questions about the company's hands-off approvals policy for Android Market. Would the dodgy apps have been spotted if Google had a tougher submissions policy -- but would that be too high a price to pay for reducing Android Market's openness? Let us know your thoughts by posting a comment.