Google has been combatting malicious apps landing in its Play Store for years, trying to figure out loopholes in its systems that allow for these apps to evade detection. Recently, the pervasive malware Joker has found its way into the app buying platform, infecting 17 applications. Google has since removed 17 apps known to be infested with the Joker malware that was uploaded in September.
Security firm Zscaler released a blog post on Thursday in which it claimed it had discovered and identified the 17 malicious apps, immediately alerting Google. Zscaler reports that there were roughly 120,000 total downloads for the identified apps. The Joker malware allegedly aims to download contact lists of victims’ phones, snoop through SMS messages, and other functions that expose private information.
Read More: Google removes 17 Android apps designed to deploy Joker malware
