It appears that’s just what happened with a slew of apps that secretly use your smartphone’s processor to mine cryptocurrency. Researchers at Kaspersky Lab found multiple malicious Android mining apps on the Google Play Store that look like your typical games, sports streaming apps, VPN’s, etc., but are actually crypto mining apps running without the user’s knowledge or consent.
Kaspersky Labs found a Portuguese soccer streaming app was downloaded over 100,000 times, mostly by users based in Brazil. As users stream a game, a JavaScript miner launches in the background and begins mining crypto. Since the streaming video uses a lot of processor power in itself, users don’t notice a spike in CPU usage caused by the malicious code.
After Kaspersky Lab found the malicious apps, it informed Google, which promptly removed them from the Google Play Store. However, the company has not made any public statement about the issue or how it will change its policies to prevent future infractions.
Recently, Google announced that it would be removing any and all crypto mining browser extensions from the Chrome Web Store, even if the extensions are legitimate. Perhaps it will enforce a similar rule on the Google Play Store in response to Kaspersky Lab’s findings.
https://www.androidauthority.com/android-mining-apps-852579/