This article originally appeared in Information Security Buzz on April 30, 2019.
Google has removed 100 applications with 600 million installs from its store after an investigation into a major Chinese app developer. The applications contained adware and forced users into click fraud.
Chinese app with 600 Million downloads is ban by Google from Play store. Google is removing apps of a Chinese android app developer DO global. It holds nearly 100 apps in the Play Store.
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Google is rolling out one of the biggest app developer bans in the history of the Play store. DO Global, a Chinese company with more than half a billion downloads, is getting booted due to ad fraud and other violations:
buzzfeednews.com/article/craigs
Google Is Banning A Play Store Developer With More Than Half A Billion App Installs
UPDATE: DO Global, the Chinese Android app developer banned by Google after we exposed it for ad fraud and other violations, issued its first public statement to me. DO apologized for “irregularities” in its apps and said it accepts Google’s decision. pic.twitter.com/D1qu8M6rMn
Expert Comments:
Mike Bittner, Digital Security and Operations Manager at The Media Trust:
Fraudulent adware is harmful to the ad networks they defraud and potentially to end-users by directing devices to steal information linked to the user’s device and behaviors, downloading unwanted—if not malicious–files, and redirecting users to malicious sites. This information can be as specific as the router a device is connected to and that can therefore be traced to a specific address. Once bad actors are able to collect information en masse, they can use it to commit theft or influence voter behavior.
