The popularity of the Squid Game series has also been exploited by cyber criminals. Recently, security researchers discovered a fake Squid Game app on the Google Play Store that was being used to spread malware.
The naughty app offers Squid Game-themed wallpapers and has been downloaded 5,000 times on the Play Store. The application was first discovered by researchers with the handle @ReBensk who then reported their findings to Google, and now the rogue application has been removed by Google.
ESET malware researcher Lukas Stefanko also analyzed the app. He found that the unofficial Squid Game application carried the Joker malware which is known to be dangerous for Android phones.
If any user downloads the Squid Game app that is already infected with the Joker malware, they could potentially fall victim to an ad scam or be signed up for an expensive premium SMS service without their knowledge.
Stefanko said that currently there are more than 200 applications related to Squid Games circulating on the Play Store. Since there is currently no official Squid Games app, this loophole is being exploited by app developers to earn money through in-app ads.
One of the unofficial applications that Stefanko found was 'Squid Games--The Game' which offers a game-style game Red Light, Green Light which was in the first episode of the South Korean series.
Although the gameplay offered is very simple, the game has been downloaded more than a million times within 10 days. Stefanko said the game was not a malicious app, but he found many unofficial Squid Games apps that displayed a lot of ads within the app.
But Stefanko still reminds Android users to be careful if you want to download the Squid Game application. He said previous malware creators had often ridden the popularity of a viral phenomenon to spread malware, so it makes sense for someone like this to take advantage of Squid Game's popularity.
Stefanko gave an example of how cybercriminals have previously taken advantage of the popularity of games like Fortnite and Pokemon Go, as well as the COVID-19 tracker app. Usually Google always checks the security of apps before and after they are uploaded to the Play Store, but malware creators are always looking for loopholes to circumvent Google's security protocols.
"I would be careful when downloading unofficial apps," Stefanko told Forbes.
"Still, if I'm going to install one of the unofficial apps, I'd advise users to bring in reviews from other people that might reveal what the app is like," he concluded.
