Judy Malware infects 36.5 million Android users

A new malware named ‘Judy’ has found in over 41 apps on the Google Play Store, and it has infected between 8.5 million to 36.5 million users. This is according to a report from security research firm Check Point, which discovered the malware and alerted Google. The search giant has started removing these infected apps from the Play Store.

However, ‘Judy Malware’ infected apps have managed to research over 4.5 million to 18.5 million downloads on the Google Play Store. According to a blogpost by Check Point, Judy Malware is “auto-clicking adware,” and the firm spotted tapps developed by a company based in South Korea.

The company’s name is Kiniwini, which is mentioned on the Google Play Store as ENISTUDIO corp, say the researchers. This firm developers apps for Android, iOS.  The auto-clicking adware would basically use these infected devices to create false clicks on ads, and thus generate revenue for the people behind this.

Check Point notes in the blog post, “The malicious apps reached an astonishing spread between 4.5 million and 18.5 million downloads. Some of the apps we discovered resided on Google Play for several years, but all were recently updated.

The researchers have also found other apps on the Google Play Store, which contain the malware, and these were developed by other companies.  The research firm notes that code was present in an app since April 2016, so basically it managed to escape Google’s scrutiny for nearly an year.