TechCrunch Summary (2023-05-29 04PM)

Summary
The popular Android app, iRecorder — Screen Recorder, was found to have been spying on its users. After an update, the app began stealing microphone recordings and documents from phones every 15 minutes. Dubbed AhRat by cybersecurity firm ESET, the code was a remote access trojan that allowed broad access to the victim’s device and enabled remote control. The app is no longer available on Google Play and had more than 50,000 downloads by the time it was removed.

Fact

📱 The app would upload a minute of ambient audio from the device’s microphone every 15 minutes.

🔍 The code allowed for the Trojan AhRat to take control of the phone, exfiltrating documents, web pages, and media files.

🔒 The malicious AhRat code was pushed out as an update to new and existing users, allowing the app to access the user’s microphone and upload the user’s phone data to a server controlled by the malware operator.

🕵️ The malware was likely part of a wider espionage campaign targeting specific individuals for nefarious purposes.

🚨 Google and Apple screen apps for malware, with Google saying it prevented over 1.4 million privacy-violating apps from being listed on its platform last year.

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