New data from research company Arxan shows that over 78% of the top 100 paid Android and iOS apps have been hacked.
Apps are big business and almost every bank in the world has a financial app, an iPhone user downloads an average of 26 apps with more then 1.000.000 apps available in the US App Store alone, the danger of these hacked apps is real and very serious.
Arxan shows that from the iOS apps over 56% of the top 100 paid apps for iOS have been hacked and a mind blowing 100% of the top 100 apps for Android have too. These apps get cracked and then recreated to look like the original, while you think you are downloading the official app for from your bank, you could be downloading a third party app that instead of sending the data to the bank stores it on private servers which then the attacker can use to access your bank account.
The hackers crack the algorithms and use exploits to get hold of your personal information stores on your device, the most dangerous apps are the free apps available on both the Apple app store and Google play store, hackers target free apps because users are more likely to download them, Arxan reports:
free mobile apps can still hold valuable IP. More significantly, and similar to paid apps,
they can be designed to process hi-value transactions and manage sensitive data, such
as access or authorization credentials
In order to keep your smartphone save from any unwanted apps or intruders, we suggest you follow the following guidelines:
- Always download from the official Google Play store
- Read reviews of the app before downloading it.
- If the app looks suspicious, don’t download it and look for an alternative.
- Check the permissions an app will have once installed, a flashlight app should never have to access your private data.
- Always keep your operation system up to date.
This infograph provides an overview of the different statistics mentioned previously in the post. Click the image to enlarge it.
