Don’t Fall Victim: Protecting Your Business from Malicious Web App Downloads

Progressive web applications are valuable for business owners. These tools allow your customers or employees to view and navigate your brand’s online pages more easily than traditional apps. PWAs enhance the user experience by resizing and reformatting data for mobile friendliness, which is why they’re popular among top brands like Spotify or even Starbucks. But there’s a catch—malicious web app downloads are everywhere now.

Your business should know about malicious PWAs and your available defenses.

How Do Harmful PWAs Work?

Many business owners consider PWAs superior to regular applications, and the installation process is similar. Users must download the app online or in locations like the Google Play store. After the installation, a shortcut becomes available for your customer to access that app. 

From there, PWAs differ from traditional apps. Clicking on a PWA opens the user’s web browser (not the app). Unfortunately, since search engines are filled with faux websites and applications, a plethora of malware might be what your clicked link finds instead. 

Have your customers or employees downloaded a malicious PWA that looks exactly like your business’ original one? If so, clicking on it will open their browser page and lead them to one of these fake sites. These convincing programs harvest data and steal credentials, like passwords and credit card numbers, so the potential fallout for your business is, frankly, terrifying.

How Can You Protect Your Business From PWA Cyberthreats?

Your business would much rather forgo the theft, slandering, and revenue hit of customers who no longer trust your brand. So, how can you protect your operation from real threats online, like this malicious code?

Don’t Ignore Abnormalities 

One cybersecurity professional, Mr.d0x, described this malware from his research efforts that released GitHub phishing templates. This research confirmed that PWA amateurs are likely to become victims because of a lack of awareness. For example, PWAs should always have a URL bar. 

Business owners can train employees to recognize these types of PWA abnormalities. Do they know what differentiates real and faux PWAs? Do they double-check URL addresses for misspellings or extra or missing letters when downloading the app?

Track Non-Company Users

Suppose hackers that create malicious web app downloads receive the credentials they need to breach your company. Can they steal more personal information? Your business will want to learn about these attempts before they do.

Monitor third-party activity in your database or operating system from an external source. By restricting third-party access to sensitive data, you can halt breaches.

Never Delay Security Updates

Has a faux party application tried to access your customer or employee’s information? The latest security updates can protect your system against malware, including:

• Downloading the most recent iOS to obtain patches for any security leaks.
• Updating anti-virus and anti-malware regularly to alert you to suspicious files. 

Your business’s best offense is a good defense, so keep those malicious web app downloads out of the office!