The Indian government has once again announced a list of apps on both Android and iOS that it says intelligence agencies have reported are spyware.
A total of 42 apps on both smartphone platforms are reportedly sending the user’s data back to servers in China, and have the potential to carry out cyber attacks against Indians. The agencies have even advised the Indian armed forces to ensure these apps aren’t used by officers
GWYN D'MELLO DECEMBER 01, 2017 1.3K SHARES
The Indian government has once again announced a list of apps on both Android and iOS that it says intelligence agencies have reported are spyware.
A total of 42 apps on both smartphone platforms are reportedly sending the user’s data back to servers in China, and have the potential to carry out cyber attacks against Indians. The agencies have even advised the Indian armed forces to ensure these apps aren’t used by officers.
The report has been published with inputs from agencies like the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) and National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO). All army personnel have been told to immediately uninstall the 42 apps as well as format their smartphones for additional measure.
Unfortunately, a few often-used apps are in the list, while the rest are largely antivirus apps, web browsers, and file managers.
Here are the apps you need to watch out for:
- Weibo, 2. WeChat, 3. SHAREit, 4. Truecaller, 5. UC News, 6. UC Browser, 7. BeautyPlus, 8. NewsDog, 9. VivaVideo- QU Video Inc, 10. Parallel Space, 11. APUS Browser, 12. Perfect Corp, 13. Virus Cleaner (Hi Security Lab), 14. CM Browser, 15. Mi Community, 16. DU recorder, 17. Vault-Hide, 18. YouCam Makeup, 19. Mi Store, 20. CacheClear DU apps studio, 21. DU Battery Saver, 22. DU Cleaner, 23. DU Privacy, 24. 360 Security, 25. DU Browser, 26. Clean Master - Cheetah Mobile, 27. Baidu Translate, 28. Baidu Map, 29. Wonder Camera, 30. ES File Explorer 31. Photo Wonder, 32. QQ International, 33. QQ Music, 34. QQ Mail, 35. QQ Player, 36. QQ NewsFeed, 37. WeSync, 38. QQ Security Centre, 39. SelfieCity, 40. Mail Master, 41. Mi Video call-Xiaomi, 42. QQ Launcher
One app has issued a clarification...
TrueCaller, however, has responded to the accusation. “In response to certain reports, we would like to clarify that we are a Sweden based company,” the app developer said. “We are not sure why the app is on this list, but we’re investigating. Truecaller is not a malware, and all our features are permission based and are disabled by default.”