Users should ask themselves which apps they really need. “The more apps, the more entry points for fraudsters,” she says. Fehlhaber offers courses in the area of “Human Factors in Cybersecurity” at Leibniz University Hannover.
In their eyes, app permissions are also important. If a simple flashlight app requires access to the contact list or the camera, for example, alarm bells should ring. However, Fehlhaber emphasizes that not every authorization is explicitly requested.
In the “SpyLoan” case, there are two pieces of good news in the end. The first: Google has now removed the malicious apps from the Play Store. The second: “Even if malicious code occurs again and again in apps – 'SpyLoan' malware is not very common in Germany,” says security researcher Fehlhaber.
Users should also be wary of a perfidious Android Trojan. It could drain your bank account.
