Article written by Adrian Potoroaca, Data, Eset Threat Intelligence, Play Protect Can Usually Spot Rogue Apps The Play Store, But What About Silent Plugins, via https://www.techspot.com on 12 May 2023
Millions of affordable Android phones come with numerous pre-installed apps, and hackers only need to subvert one.
However, researchers at Trend Micro are sounding the alarm about the growing trend of Android devices that come with malicious software pre-installed.
This risk also applies to other Android devices, including smartwatches, tablets, set-top boxes, and smart TVs.
Interestingly, the criminals themselves claim that 8.9 million Android devices are loaded with their silent plugins.
Google has been aware of pre-installed Android malware for years, but it cannot easily solve the problem due to its limited control over the complex OEM Android supply chain.