While InterSloth's latest game Among Us quickly became a fan favorite on PC and mobile, cybercriminals have taken notice and are now using fake versions of the game to distribute malware to unsuspecting users. More than 60 fake apps posing as the popular online multiplayer game have been discovered online, according to a new study by app protection firm Promon and its partner Wultra. For those who are new to the game, in Among Us you play as a teammate on a spaceship with up to ten other players who have to complete small tasks in different areas of the ship. However, some of the players, between one and three, are "imposters" whose job it is to stealth kill all the other teammates without anyone knowing who they are. As Among Us is not a graphically intense game, it can be played on multiple platforms, including mobile, and the app is available for free on the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store with in-app purchases. .
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Promon and Wultra have discovered more than 60 fake apps among us from at least nine different authors, distributed on app stores and third-party websites. Of these, more than 75% have been repackaged to incorporate malicious code that turns legitimate games into adware. As a result, large ads that replace the usual interface of the application are constantly appearing. However, several of the rogue apps discovered turned out to be malware launchers that cybercriminals use to install more serious types of malware, such as banking Trojans, onto a user's device. These types of malware can also steal a user's login information, as well as other personally identifiable information. Promon CTO Tom Lysemose Hansen provided more information on these rogue apps among us and the dangers they pose to users in a press release: “Cybercriminals, and especially malware designers, pay close attention to the rise and fall of popular game trends to decide your next goal. The problem here is that this particular game is very popular among youngsters, who generally don't care about the security of mobile apps and will not only download what they think is a legitimate version of the game, but also mods, maps, and more. , skins and resource packs. , regardless of the degree of danger of the source. "In order to play safely between USA on mobile devices, users are strongly recommended to download the app from official app stores instead of trying to download it.