A gang is using Google services to issue command and control communications to help monitor and control the machines of unsuspecting malware victims. The Carbanak hacking group is one of the most successful cybercriminal operations in the world.

Since it started operating in 2013, the gang has attacked banks, e-payment systems and financial institutions across the globe using Trojan malware in a stealthy and continuous campaign, making off with a suspected total of over $1 billion in stolen funds. Carbanak is a highly organised group and continually evolves its tactics in order to continue to carry out cybercrime while avoiding detection.

Waymo, better known as Google X’s self-driving project, is in talks to partner with Honda on developing fully self-driving cars, the companies announced on Wednesday. If discussions progress, Honda will be the second automaker Waymo will have partnered with.

In May, Waymo — which spun out into its own Alphabet subsidiary last week — struck up a deal with Fiat Chrysler to produce 100 self-driving minivans. Previously, the self-driving project has had difficulty partnering with automakers as many of the car makers wanted to avoid relinquishing their brand to Google. It’s not clear exactly how many vehicles Honda will commit to this partnership.

Your Google accounts could have been compromised if you own a Android phone, thanks to a new malware variant known as "Gooligan." The malware has infected more than 1 million accounts, according to research, and that figure is growing by a massive 13,000 devices per day.

In August, Gooligan emerged as a complex malware that infects devices after users download apps from third party stores. It was originally related to a malicious app from 2015 named SnapPea. The malware steals authentication tokens that can be used to access data from Google Play, Gmail, Google Docs, Google Drive and more.

Uninspiring design aside, Google's new Pixel and Pixel XL are fantastic smartphones that really give the iPhone a run for its money, especially when it comes to taking photos and videos.

Earlier this month, Adrian Ludwig, the director of Android security at Google, told at a security conference that the Pixels are as secure as iPhones. "For almost all threat models are nearly identical in terms of their platform-level capabilities," Ludwig said. Well, so much for that. A group of Chinese white hat hackers managed to hack a Pixel in 60 seconds at the PwnFest hacking competition that took place in Seoul on Friday.

If you don’t go to suspicious sites, malware can’t get you — right? Well, no. Even those who do not open unreliable e-mail attachments, avoid porn sites, and do not install apps from unofficial stores are not well-enough protected.

New developments suggest that malware can be found even on an absolutely legitimate site, as 318,000 thousand Android users found out when their Android devices were attacked by the Svpeng.q banking Trojan from Google AdSense advertisements. Google AdSense is the biggest ad network in the world, so a lot of criminals dream about finding a way to use the network to spread their malicious programs worldwide.

Security researchers at Cylance have uncovered a malware-spreading campaign that uses Google AdWords to pump out rogue code to macOS users. The malefactors bought the AdWords top ranking for the search term "Google Chrome," which appeared to lead the user to www.google.com/chrome.

In fact it redirected them to googlechromelive.com, which hoisted a fake download page for the popular browser. "On the other hand, the malicious download link redirects macOS users through ttb.mysofteir.com, servextrx.com, and www.bundlesconceptssend.com then ultimately downloads a malicious file named FLVPlayer.dmg," the team said in a blog posting.

Google this week took the wraps off Google Home, its smart speaker and home entertainment hub, but questions remain about the impact the device will have on users' privacy. A direct rival to Amazon Echo, Google Home is the company's entry into the smart home market.

Want Google Home to play your favorite song? Just say, "OK, Google" and ask for it to play the music. Want the device, which is equipped with its artificial-intelligence based Assistant, to play that funny cat video from YouTube on your TV? You get the picture. Google Home is always listening for the phrase, "OK, Google" so it can take its instructions.

Google Play was recently found to be hosting more than 400 apps that turned infected phones into listening posts that could siphon sensitive data out of the protected networks they connected to.

One malicious app infected with the so-called DressCode malware had been downloaded from 100,000 to 500,000 times before it was removed from the Google-hosted marketplace. Known as Mod GTA 5 for Minecraft PE, it was disguised as a benign game, but included in the code was a component that established a persistent connection with an attacker controlled server. The server then had the ability to bypass so-called network address translation protections.

Less than three months after Pokémon Go launched, criminals sneaked malware into Google Play to target Pokémon trainers. Experts discovered the Trojan several days ago and immediately reported it to Google.

Unfortunately, by that time, the malicious app called Guide for Pokémon Go had already been downloaded more than 500,000 times. In the past few months almost 6 million people gave Pokémon Go a try. It’s no wonder that the massively popular game quickly caught the attention of cybercriminals: The first malware for Pokémon Go was traced in July, soon after the launch of the game. At that time, the situation was not so dangerous.

Prisma, the app that became a global sensation with its ability to turn your photos into works of art, has become a honeypot for cybercriminals, with fake versions appearing in app stores vying to steal your personal information.

Capitalising on the popularity of the transformation app several, fake versions loaded with sly tricks such as fake surveys to capture users' data, as well as dangerous Trojan downloaders, snuck onto the Google Play Store. According to a blog by ESET, who discovered these fake apps among the five Trojan downloaders on Google Play, two have phishing functionality implemented that could probably be executed via the downloaded module.