Hundreds of thousands of app store users could be putting their data and money at risk by downloading malicious apps, according to a report published by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC).

The UK government said it has plans to combat this threat this with a ‘first-of-its-kind solution’.

The UK’s app market is worth £18 billion, with apps used daily by millions of users for a plethora of different functions including banking, social media, and shopping.

Despite this vast utilisation and increasing reliance on apps by vast swathes of the population, few rules or controls governing the security and efficacy of the technology or online stores are in place.

NCSC’s report highlighted that people’s data and money was at risk due to fraudulent apps containing malicious malware created by cyber criminals, or poorly developed apps which can be compromised by hackers.

Currently apps can readily be created and placed on app stores, with little oversight over their safety or validity, the NCSC said.

Under new plans, the UK government said it wants to boost security standards; in time, the cyber watchdog said people downloading apps to smartphones, gaming consoles and TVs will be better protected from hackers and other malicious actors.

The plans would make it so that app stores for smartphones, game consoles, TVs and other smart devices could be asked to commit to new codes of practice, setting out baseline security and privacy requirements.

The directive would apply to developers and store operators making apps available to UK users which would include the likes of Apple, Google, Amazon, Huawei, Microsoft, and Samsung.

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