Angy Birds Add-ons And Cheats Infected With Malware

Google has confirmed that it has suspended a number of suspicious applications from the Android Market after researchers discovered a new stealthy piece of spyware, dubbed "Plankton."

According to reports the malware has been found to infect as many as ten add-ons or cheats for the popular arcade game Angry Birds. The discovery was first announced on June 5 by computer science professor Xuxian Jiang and his team located in North Carolina State University.

“Plankton is the first one that we are aware of that exploits Dalvik-class loading capability to stay stealthy and dynamically extend its own functionality,” Jiang wrote. “Our investigation indicates that there are at least 10 infected Android apps in the official Android Market from three different developers. Its stealthy design also explains why some earlier variants have been there for more than two months without being detected by current mobile anti-virus software.”

A Google spokesman confirmed yesterday that the company has already taken action to remove the malicious applications.