Android apps have leaked over 730TB of user data and Google secrets


A major security investigation has analyzed 1.8 million Android apps available on the Google Play Store, focusing on those that explicitly claim AI features, and identified worrying security flaws which may be exposing secrets.

From the initial research pool, Cybernews researchers identified 38,630 Android AI apps and examined their internal code for exposed credentials and cloud service references, finding widespread data handling failures that extended far beyond isolated developer mistakes. Overall, the researchers found nearly three-quarters (72%) of the analyzed Android AI apps contained at least one hardcoded secret embedded directly in application code – and on average, each affected app leaked 5.1 secrets.

Read more…
Source: TechRadar News


Sign up for the Cyber Security Review Newsletter
The latest cyber security news and insights delivered right to your inbox


Related:

  • 2023’s badly handled data breaches

    December 29, 2023

    Last year, researchers compiled a list of 2022’s most poorly handled data breaches, looking back at the bad behavior of corporate giants when faced with hacks and breaches. That included everything from downplaying the real-world impact of spills of personal information to failing to answer basic questions. Turns out this year, many organizations continue to make ...

  • UK: 767 sex crime victims affected by Norfolk police data leak

    December 27, 2023

    Hundreds of victims of sexual offences were among those to have personal details leaked as part of a huge police data breach. Norfolk and Suffolk constabularies revealed in August that a technical issue had led to sensitive raw data about crimes being mistakenly disclosed as part of responses to freedom of information requests. Among the data ...

  • Estonia: At least one case of extortion reported following Asper Biogene data leak

    December 25, 2023

    Investigations into the Asper Biogene data leak that came to light last week are ongoing, and there is already at least one known case of an attempt to extort money from an individual in connection with the data leak. When the data theft case came to light, police warned that the situation could be exploited by ...

  • Mr. Cooper leaks personal data of 14 million loan and mortgage customers

    December 19, 2023

    A major mortgage and loan company based in Dallas, working under the name Mr. Cooper Group Inc. has released more information on a recent breach. In a data breach notification, the company didn’t say what type of cyberattack caused the compromise of customer data, calling it a rather non-descriptive “External system breach (hacking).” For those unfamiliar ...

  • The sound of you typing on your keyboard could reveal your password

    December 12, 2023

    As if password authentication’s coffin needed any more nails, researchers in the UK have discovered yet another way to hammer one in. The technique, developed at Durham University, the University of Surrey, and Royal Holloway University of London, builds on previous work to produce a more accurate way to guess your password by listening to ...

  • USAF cracks down on ‘need to know’ violations in wake of Discord leaks

    December 12, 2023

    Just because you’re cleared for secrets doesn’t mean you have a “need to know” them. After hundreds of classified documents were leaked earlier this year, the U.S. Air Force is trying to ensure that airmen clear both bars before they access sensitive information. The service has “implemented several reforms to improve procedures related to need to ...