India, March 13 -- Google is stepping up its security game, reinforcing the Play Store's defences as the risks of sideloading apps continue to grow. "Chrome users are protected against the identified malicious URLs by Google Safe Browsing. Based on our current detection, no apps containing this malware are found on Google Play," Google told Forbes.

Earlier this month, Google cracked down on fake apps lurking in its Play Store, but a new threat has emerged-what if the Play Store itself is fake?

"Android users are automatically protected against known versions of this malware by Google Play Protect, even when apps come from sources outside of Play," Google assured.

Industry-favourite malware detector CTM360 reveals a massive campaign tri...