The study shows that innocent looking apps were more prone to malware infections or hidden connections to remote servers that allow attackers to extract sensitive information from your phone. While on the other hand, the study found that gambling apps were not so dangerous other than having a bad social effect. Proofpoint says that it expected to find gambling apps targeted by cyber-criminals, it was more surprising when it detected similar spyware-like behavior in harmless flashlight apps and even religious applications that did nothing more than serve Bible, Quran, or Torah verses The researchers also tested 5,600 (Android) flashlight apps, finding that 26 contained known malicious code, while another 36 were deemed as “high risk.” When it came to Bible apps, security researchers tested 5,600 apps (4,154 for Android; 1,500 for iOS), and found that 208 contained malicious code, with another 140 apps classified as “high risk.” The study revealed that there were more malicious Bible apps than there are poker apps, even percentage-wise. Of the total number of gambling apps scanned, Proofpoint discovered that 0.22% contained malicious code while 3.7% of all Bible apps contained known malicious code. Moving to the Quran, Proofpoint analyzed 4,500 apps (3,804 for Android; 646 for iOS), discovering 16 apps with malicious code, and 38 with “high risk” behavior. There were only 200 Torah apps to scan, but Proofpoint eventually found 2 apps that contained malicious code. Proofpoint says, “The existence – and surprising prevalence – of riskware in apps from gambling programs to the holy books is a valuable reminder of the importance of a mobile app security strategy.” “Clearly, one cannot ‘judge a book by its cover,’” they concluded.
