Google collaborates with the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) to test the blocking of high-level permission apps outside the store. However, this experimentation is currently limited to Singapore.
High-level permissions include receiving and reading SMS, reading notifications, and accessibility. These permissions have been exploited by malicious individuals to create money-siphoning apps. It has been discovered that these malicious actors often deceive victims into installing such apps, with 95% of installations occurring outside the store.
Although Google Play Protect warns and blocks such installations, malicious individuals may trick victims into disabling Google Play Protect, except for users who have Google Advanced Protection enabled, as it cannot be disabled.
Google states that it will assess the outcomes of this experimentation and make necessary adjustments based on the findings. This new measure marks an upgrade from Google’s previous attempt, where they attempted to block these money-siphoning apps using Google Play Protect. They identified over 500,000 such apps and issued more than 3 million notifications.
TLDR: Google and the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore are collaborating to test blocking high-level permission apps outside the store. These permissions have been exploited by malicious actors to create money-siphoning apps. Despite warnings from Google Play Protect, victims are often tricked into installing these apps. Google aims to assess the impact of this experimentation and improve its measures to protect users.
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