Now, Google has a 'defense alliance' to fight malware-laced apps

Google already uses its 'Play Protect' system to check if apps installed on a device are free from malware.

But, the thing is, this feature only scans and warns against on-device threats, not those on the Google Play Store.

The new alliance will work to tackle this particular issue by keeping malicious apps from showing up on the store in the first place.

As part of the app defense alliance, Google will work with security giants ESET, Lookout, and Zimperium to flag potential threats and prevent them from being published on the Google Play Store.

The search giant says all three companies specialize in mobile security and use machine learning tools and static/dynamic analysis to detect malicious apps and protect Android mobile devices and their users.

Now, in order to tackle bad apps, Google will work with the researchers at these companies and integrate Play Protect detection-systems with their scanning engines.

"This will generate new app risk intelligence as apps are being queued to publish," the company said, noting that the "partners will analyze that dataset and act as another, vital set of eyes prior to an app going live."

Google's struggle in getting a grip over malicious apps directly ties to the sheer number of active Android devices (over 2.5 billion to be exact) around the world.

However, with the latest alliance bringing multiple detection engines together, the company hopes to be more efficient in identifying potentially harmful apps.

So, hopefully, we may soon see a fall in malware-laced apps on Play Store.