Spyware...

A research conducted by associates of Security Without Borders organization along with Motherboard has revealed that government spyware that infected hundreds of people through the official Google Play Store.

The malware was tracked as Exodus, after the name of the command and control servers the malicious apps connected to. More than 20 malicious apps went unnoticed by Google over the course of roughly two years.

According to Motherboard, the Android surveillance malware on the Google Play store that was sold to the Italian government by a company that sells surveillance cameras. This company is not known to produce malware, and if confirmed this is the first surveillance software associated with it.

The researchers argue that the surveillance operation might have targeted also innocent victims because the spyware was poorly developed, a circumstance that is confirmed makes the software illegal.

The Exodus surveillance malware was hidden in look like harmless apps that propose promotions and marketing offers from local Italian cellphone providers, other apps involved in the campaign were designed to improve the device’s performance.