When a developer leaves a mistake in application code, it can create a security vulnerability that criminals may exploit.
According to the data presented by the Atlas VPN team, 63% of Android applications had known security vulnerabilities in Q1 2021, with an average of 39 vulnerabilities per app.
Gaming apps had the most vulnerabilities out of all Android app categories. A whopping
96% of top free games apps were found to contain vulnerable components. Additionally, 94% of top-grossing games apps and 80% of top paid games apps also had vulnerabilities.
Despite the fact that financial apps require some of the most personally sensitive data, vulnerabilities were also discovered in 88% of banking apps, 84% of budgeting apps, and 80% of payment apps.
Education apps have the most high-level vulnerabilities
Not all vulnerabilities are equal. While some may just be minor issues that do not pose any active threat to the user, other vulnerabilities can cause serious repercussions. Let’s delve deeper into the different types of Android security vulnerabilities registered since 2018.
Education apps had the highest number of exploitable Android vulnerabilities with possible fixes as of the first quarter of 2021— 43%. Meanwhile, apps in the top games category had the biggest number of exploitable Android vulnerabilities with no available fixes — 6%.
Overall, 44% of the Android app vulnerabilities were classified as high-risk, meaning they represented a tangible threat.
Ruth Cizynski, the cybersecurity researcher and writer at Atlas VPN, shares her thoughts on the situation:
“Given that the Google Play store applications have been downloaded millions of times, it is safe to say they pose significant security risks to Android users. ”
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