Trojanized Android games hide malicious code inside images

Over 60 Android games hosted on Google Play had Trojan-like functionality that allowed them to download and execute malicious code hidden inside images.

The rogue apps were discovered by researchers from Russian antivirus vendor Doctor Web and were reported to Google last week. The researchers dubbed the new threat Android.Xiny.19.origin.

Malicious Android apps were a common occurrence on Google Play until a few years ago when Google implemented more rigorous checks. This included an automated scanner called Bouncer that used emulation and behavior-based detection.

Bypassing Bouncer detection is not impossible, but is hard enough to keep most malware creators away. Most Android Trojans these days are distributed through third-party app stores, targeting users who have enabled the installation of apps from “unknown sources.”

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