New Delhi: Researchers from the University of Sydney and CSIRO’s Data61 investigated around 1.2 million apps available on Google Play and identified a set of potential counterfeits for the top 10,000 apps. They claimed that they have found some 2, 000 malware-laden apps present on Google Play, all of which are copycats of some of the most popular apps out there.

The researchers discovered a huge number impersonated popular games, which even included fake versions of popular mobile games like Temple Run, Free Flow and Hill Climb Racing. Other fake apps were malware-free but requested “dangerous” data access permissions, the report said.

According to the report, "The potential counterfeits were then checked for malware using the private API of online malware analysis tool VirusTotal. While 7246 were tagged by at least one anti-virus tools, the researchers used a ‘relaxed threshold’ leaving them with 2040 high-risk, fake apps."

The co-author Dr Suranga Seneviratne from the University of Sydney was quoted as saying that while Google Play’s success is marked on its flexibility and customisable features that allow almost anyone to build an app, there have been a number of problematic apps that have slipped through the cracks and have bypassed automated vetting processes.

He further said that it important to build solutions to quickly detect and contain malicious apps before affecting a wider population of smartphone users, as the society is increasingly reliant on smartphone technology.