In March, Alphabet Inc., GOOGL, banned Chinese E-commerce company Pinduoduo Inc's PDD app from its platforms, citing security concerns due to the discovery of malware. According to a CNN report, experts allege that the app can be used to spy on users.
The Pinduoduo app can be used to monitor users' cell phone security, check notifications, read private messages and change settings.
The presence of malware in the Pinduoduo app has uncovered holes in Android's operating systems, according to experts. According to CNN, the vulnerabilities were exploited by the company to spy on users and competitors and boost sales.
How can I use TikTok, Instagram or Twitter? You might have to get your parent to sign a permission slip.
Mikko Hypp nen, chief research officer at WithSecure, said the mainstream app like this is trying to escalate their privileges to gain access to things that they're not supposed to gain access to.
Evidence of malware in the Pinduoduo app comes amid heightened U.S.-China tensions over Chinese-owned apps, including TikTok, which U.S. lawmakers say could be a national security threat.
A current employee at Pinduoduo told CNN that Pinduoduo set up a team of around 100 engineers in 2020 to dig for vulnerabilities in Android phones and develop ways to exploit and profit off those vulnerabilities.
Researchers from Tel Aviv-based Cyber firm Check Point Research, Delaware-based app security startup Oversecured, and Hypp nen's WithSecure analyzed the 6.49. A code designed to achieve privilege escalation - a type of cyberattack that exploits a vulnerable operating system to gain a higher level of access to data than is supposed to have was discovered by the 0 version of the app and discovered a code designed to achieve privilege escalation.
Sergey Toshin, founder of Oversecured, told CNN that Pinduoduo is the most dangerous malware that has ever been found in mainstream apps.
It's like, super expansive, he said.
Pinduoduo entered the U.S. market last September with its online marketplace Temu.
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