Eight apps infected with new Joker variant removed from Google Play Store

Eight applications infected with a new variant of the Joker spyware, which have already garnered over 3 million downloads combined, have been removed by Google from the Google Play store, Threatpost reports. The malware, dubbed Autolycos, was discovered by Maxime Ingrao, a security researcher at cybersecurity company Evina. In a Twitter post last week, Ingrao said the malware can subscribe users to a premium service and access their SMS messages without their knowledge to rack up payment charges. The crybercriminals behind the spyware are running ads on Instagram and Facebook and using FB pages to promote the malware. For example, there were 74 ad campaigns for Razer Keyboard & Theme malware, Ingrao tweeted. Researchers from Malwarebytes, who examined the malware, believed it is a new variant of Joker spyware. The eight apps where Autolycos were discovered include Vlog Star Video Editor, Creative 3D Launcher, Wow Beauty Camera, Razer Keyboard & Theme by rxcheldiolola, Gif Emoji Keyboard, Funny Camera by KellyTech, Freeglow Camera 1.0.0, and Coco Camera v1.1.