Zscaler defends its research, praises Google's quick actions.
Google has hit back at research which claimed there were over 200 malicious apps in the Google Play Store.
The research by Zscaler, featured by SC UK earlier this month, found the malicious apps with more than eight million installations. A statement sent to SC UK by Google said that the malicious versions of these apps identified are no longer on Play.
“Android users are automatically protected against known versions of malware mentioned in this report by Google Play Protect, which is on by default on Android devices with Google Play Services,” the comment said.
In response, Deepen Desai, CISO and head of security research at Zscaler, commended the Google security team for doing a commendable job in swiftly removing malicious applications identified in our report from the Google Play Store.
Desai said: “Zscaler immediately reports any identified threats to the Google Security team, and in turn, Google quickly remediates those threats removing them from Play Store with an ability to remove them from the android devices. This strong collaboration between Zscaler and Google highlights our shared commitment to keeping digital platforms safe.
“The Google Security team’s quick actions to mitigate these threats, combined with the fact that Android users are automatically protected by default against known malware versions, is a crucial step in securing the Google Play Store.”
Written by
Dan Raywood
Senior Editor
SC Media UK
Dan Raywood is a B2B journalist with more than 20 years of experience, including covering cybersecurity for the past 16 years. He has extensively covered topics from Advanced Persistent Threats and nation-state hackers to major data breaches and regulatory changes.
He has spoken at events including 44CON, Infosecurity Europe, RANT Conference, BSides Scotland, Steelcon and ESET Security Days.
Outside work, Dan enjoys supporting Tottenham Hotspur, managing mischievous cats, and sampling craft beers.
