Arsink Spyware Posing as WhatsApp, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok Hits 143 Countries
Another day, another Android malware campaign targeting unsuspecting users worldwide by masquerading as popular apps.
Android
Hugging Face Repositories Hijacked For Android RAT Delivery, Bypassing Traditional Defenses
A sophisticated Android RAT campaign that exploits Hugging Face’s popular machine learning platform to host and distribute malicious payloads. Attackers combine social engineering, legitimate infrastructure abuse, and Accessibility Services explo…
GhostChat Spyware Targets Android Users Through WhatsApp, Steals Sensitive Data
A sneaky Android spyware called GhostChat, which tricks Pakistan-based users with romance scams via WhatsApp. The malware grabs sensitive data like contacts, photos, and files from victims’ devices. Threat actors pose as dating apps to hook targe…
Google disrupts proxy network used by 550+ threat groups
Google has disrupted Ipidea, a massive residential proxy network consisting of user devices that are being used as the last-mile link in cyberattack chains. “In a single seven day period in January 2026, GTIG observed over 550 individual threat g…
Phantom Malware in Android Game Mods Hijacks Devices for Ad Fraud
Another day, another Android malware strain. This time, Phantom malware (aka Android.Phantom) is targeting users who install third-party gaming apps from unofficial sources.
Android Phones Get AI-Powered Anti-Theft Features
Enhanced lockouts and stronger remote locking aim to make stolen devices far harder—and less profitable—for criminals.
The post Android Phones Get AI-Powered Anti-Theft Features appeared first on TechRepublic.
New Android Theft Protection Feature Updates: Smarter, Stronger
Phone theft is more than just losing a device; it’s a form of financial fraud that can leave you suddenly vulnerable to personal data and financial theft. That’s why we’re committed to providing multi-layered defenses that help protect you before, during, and after a theft attempt.
Today, we’re announcing a powerful set of theft protection feature updates that build on our existing protections, designed to give you greater peace of mind by making your device a much harder target for criminals.
Stronger Authentication Safeguards
We’ve expanded our security to protect you against an even wider range of threats. These updates are now available for Android devices running Android 16+.
More User Control for Failed Authentications: In Android 15, we launched Failed Authentication Lock, a feature that automatically locks the device’s screen after excessive failed authentication attempts. This feature is now getting a new dedicated enable/disable toggle in settings, giving you more granular control over your device’s security.
Expanding Identity Check to cover more: Early in 2025, we enabled Identity Check for Android 15+, which requires the user to utilize biometrics when performing certain actions outside of trusted places. Later in the year, we extended this safeguard to cover all features and apps that use the Android Biometric Prompt. This means that critical tools that utilize Biometric Prompt, like third-party banking apps and Google Password Manager, now automatically benefit from the additional security of Identity Check.
Stronger Protection Against Screen Lock Guessing: We’re making it much harder for a thief to guess your PIN, pattern, or password by increasing the lockout time after failed attempts. To ensure you aren’t locked out by mistake (by a curious child, for instance), identical incorrect guesses no longer count toward your retry limit.
New Android Theft Protection Feature Updates: Smarter, Stronger
Phone theft is more than just losing a device; it’s a form of financial fraud that can leave you suddenly vulnerable to personal data and financial theft. That’s why we’re committed to providing multi-layered defenses that help protect you before, during, and after a theft attempt.
Today, we’re announcing a powerful set of theft protection feature updates that build on our existing protections, designed to give you greater peace of mind by making your device a much harder target for criminals.
Stronger Authentication Safeguards
We’ve expanded our security to protect you against an even wider range of threats. These updates are now available for Android devices running Android 16+.
More User Control for Failed Authentications: In Android 15, we launched Failed Authentication Lock, a feature that automatically locks the device’s screen after excessive failed authentication attempts. This feature is now getting a new dedicated enable/disable toggle in settings, giving you more granular control over your device’s security.
Expanding Identity Check to cover more: Early in 2025, we enabled Identity Check for Android 15+, which requires the user to utilize biometrics when performing certain actions outside of trusted places. Later in the year, we extended this safeguard to cover all features and apps that use the Android Biometric Prompt. This means that critical tools that utilize Biometric Prompt, like third-party banking apps and Google Password Manager, now automatically benefit from the additional security of Identity Check.
Stronger Protection Against Screen Lock Guessing: We’re making it much harder for a thief to guess your PIN, pattern, or password by increasing the lockout time after failed attempts. To ensure you aren’t locked out by mistake (by a curious child, for instance), identical incorrect guesses no longer count toward your retry limit.
Machine learning–powered Android Trojans bypass script-based Ad Click detection
A new Android click-fraud trojan family uses TensorFlow ML to visually detect and tap ads, bypassing traditional script-based click techniques. Researchers at cybersecurity firm Dr.Web discovered a new Android click-fraud trojan family that uses TensorFlow.js ML models to visually detect and tap ads, avoiding traditional script-based methods. The malware is distributed via Xiaomi’s GetApps, it […]
Android Users Hit by Volume Button Bug Linked to Select to Speak
Google has confirmed a critical bug affecting Android devices where volume buttons malfunction when the Select to Speak accessibility feature is enabled. The issue causes volume keys to adjust accessibility volume rather than media volume. It prevents …