Our last three blog posts have been about Trust, or the lack
of it. Well, it seems that the matter of Trust has taken another hit while we
were all enjoying the holidays. Please read: http://techcrunch.com/2014/01/02/developer-spams-google-play-with-ripoffs-of-well-known-apps-again/ .
A quick summary of the article is that a developer(s) has loaded fake apps onto
the Google Play! App store and has made them appear to be legitimate apps by
slightly modifying the app names. The issue is how these apps were able to make
it through the review process to make it onto the app store at all. Was it the
reduced staffing at Google to validate the claims of the developer and verify
the operation of the app?
There are several victims in this case:
- The impact to the consumer, in this situation, is having paid for an app that does not work and clearly does not have a means to recuperate their payment from the developer … unless Google steps in to reimburse those impacted by this fraud.
- We suspect that the original, valid app developers were impacted by support calls for an app that looked like theirs on the app store but was, in fact, not theirs and now have to deal with a consumer who is likely upset and perhaps demanding reimbursement.
- Other app developers are now victims as it is certain that Google will raise the bar for entry to their app store and will put legitimate developers through additional effort and expense to get their apps placed.
- Google is also a victim of a weakness in their own process that was exploited by an individual(s) and has called into question their diligence process and unfortunately the validity of all other apps that have gone through the process.
- The impact to the consumer, in this situation, is having paid for an app that does not work and clearly does not have a means to recuperate their payment from the developer … unless Google steps in to reimburse those impacted by this fraud.
- We suspect that the original, valid app developers were impacted by support calls for an app that looked like theirs on the app store but was, in fact, not theirs and now have to deal with a consumer who is likely upset and perhaps demanding reimbursement.
- Other app developers are now victims as it is certain that Google will raise the bar for entry to their app store and will put legitimate developers through additional effort and expense to get their apps placed.
- Google is also a victim of a weakness in their own process that was exploited by an individual(s) and has called into question their diligence process and unfortunately the validity of all other apps that have gone through the process.
Unfortunately, in this particular case, it is a “buyer beware”
situation and Google will do their best to remove the fraudulent apps and to
make things right. But imagine if those apps were malicious to your device and its data, rather than non-operational.
Imagine if the apps were free and available over the Holidays to all of the new
Android device users. How many people truly read the “app permissions” dialog
that appears just before hitting OK to download? Just how much damage could
there have been to devices and data. Not to mention the damage to the Trust
that consumers and businesses place on their use of the Google Play Store!
There is an opportunity here for a simple solution to help
Consumers and Business take further control over their own protection and
privacy. A solution that does not rely on the inspection and understanding of
the permission requirements of each and every app. A solution that can prevent
even a malicious app from gaining access to the other apps and data that are
important to you or your business. There is a solution and it is called Secure
Spaces.
