Malicious Smartphone Apps Can Secretly Turn Your Phone Into Tracking Device

Be careful what you download any application even from Google Play. Four apps available on the Google Play Store were spying on users in secret, according to research released Friday by Mobile security company Lookout. Running a malicious code that Lookout has dubbed Overseer, the apps could track your latitude and longitude and collect information on who you were emailing when.

we all love new Apps because we love to try new things in our smartphones every day. But installing apps without proper knowledge will turn your device into a tracking device in no time. 2016 has already been a great year for hackers, from hacking major websites to breaking the security of servers of global companies, these hackers are willing to try everything to steal the personal information.

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From recent reports, there were 4 applications on the Google play, which were secretly spying on users. After a research by Mobile security company Lookout on Friday. They found that these apps will spy your location with the help of latitude and longitude. Also, they have the power to collect information about your emails.

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Product manager for security research at Lookout, Kristy Edwards said, “That information is incredibly valuable to an attacker who wants to find out where a person is and who they’re talking with”.

From those 4, one app named Embassy was an advertised type, which lets the user look up their nation’s embassy in foreign cities. But during the same time, the app will turn the user’s phone into homing devices and sent out the email contact lists to accounts, which are hosted on servers run by Facebook and Amazon websites. And the remaining three apps were like advertisements for the news, but their functionality was not good, and they also contained Overseer.

According to a Lookout spokesperson, Google has removed the apps from the Play Store. And Google confirmed about that apps removal but declined further comment on this issue. According to Edward, the apps, which haven’t been identified yet in other devices uses a novel technique to avoid detection.

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