A security company issued a new warning to Android users after discovering that many chat applications in the Google Play Store contain malicious software that can steal WhatsApp messages.
Offending apps can install what's known as a "Trojan" (RAT), an instance called VajraSpy, which can start stealing your private data.
Researchers at security company ESET identified about 12 applications containing malicious code, six of which are available for download from the Google Play Store. They are often disguised as chat apps: Privee Talk, MeetMe, Let's Chat, Quick Chat, Rafaqat, Chit Chat, YoohooTalk, TikTalk, Hello Chat, Nidus, GlowChat, and Wave Chat.
If you have any of these apps on your phone, you should delete them immediately, as they can expose private WhatsApp and Signal messages, take photos using your phone's camera, or even record your phone calls, according to ESET.
The company said it believes the apps have been downloaded primarily about 1,400 times in Malaysia, Pakistan and India. Despite this, you should still be wary of downloading apps that you may not have heard of, or any apps from app developers that don't appear to be legitimate.
Lukasz Stefanko, of ESET, said the hackers "may have used a suspicious scam" to get people to download the app, where hackers pretend to be romantic interests and ask to download another chat app to continue communicating.
Peskov: There are currently no decisions to completely ban VPNs in Russia
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced that there are currently no decisions to completely ban the operation of VPNs in Russia.
In response to a question from the press about the issue, Peskov said: “I can say that there are currently no decisions in this regard. This is what we must start from.”
The Federal Service for Communications, Information Technology and Media (Roskomnadzor) had previously indicated that, as of March 1, 2024, a ban will be implemented in the country on VPN services that provide access to websites blocked in the Russian Federation. In turn, the Chairman of the Information Policy Committee of the State Duma, Alexander Khinshtein, said that there is no talk of a complete ban on VPNs in Russia currently.
The virtual private network, or what is known for short as VPN, is today considered one of the common means that some people resort to to hide the IP addresses of their devices when browsing websites that are prohibited in some countries, and a means of protecting their private data while using the Internet.
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