Sunday, August 19, 2012

Chinese SMS payment app infects half million devices with malware

Chinese SMS payment app infects half million devices with malware:
Android device sales continue to surge in China, with over 683 million subscribers. A large market like that attracts a lot of attention, some good and some bad. An example of bad attention came to light with the discovery of a new malware/virus infecting over 500,000 owners of Android devices. TrustGo, an anti-virus specialist company, identified the malware on July 25th and it has since been dubbed Trojan!SMSZombie.
According to TrustGo, the malware code is initially contained within apps for wallpaper. After being downloaded, the infected app will ask a user to download an additional file to complete installation. This additional file, called “Android System Service” is really the payload. The malware/virus then uses some trickery to force the user to grant it administrator privileges. Once those are granted, the application implements a variety of measures to prevent a user from uninstalling the application. Meanwhile, the malware accesses a phone’s SMS functions and can then intercept bank/card information and the user’s purchase/transaction history. In addition, the malware can start to make payments. Thus far, the payments have been small, frequently tied to online gaming platforms, in an effort to avoid attention.
According to sources, the infected wallpaper apps are distributed through China’s extensive network of independent app stores. These app stores exist due to Google’s limited presence in China and the need for sources for apps. It is believed the primary source for this infection was the GFan store, one of China’s more popular sites.
TrustGo indicates they have tools available for users to remove the malware/virus. Others should use this as a reminder to be careful with what you download and install to your Android powered device.
source: The Next Web








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