Skip to main content

New Android malware family has infected thousands of devices - here's what we know

Cybersecurity researchers from McAfee hae uncovered over a dozen malicious apps lurking in the Google Play Store. 

The researchers claim these apps were carrying a potent piece of malware, capable of stealing sensitive data from the infected Android devices and possibly even running ad fraud.

The apps were downloaded at least 330,000 times.

Accessibility Service

According to the researchers, the backdoor is called “Xamalicious”, and has so far been discovered in thee following apps:

- Essential Horoscope for Android – 100,000 installs 

- 3D Skin Editor for PE Minecraft – 100,000 installs 

- Logo Maker Pro – 100,000 installs 

- Auto Click Repeater – 10,000 installs 

- Count Easy Calorie Calculator – 10,000 installs 

- Dots: One Line Connector – 10,000 installs 

- Sound Volume Extender – 5,000 installs

After being labeled as malicious, Google removed these apps from its app repository.

While Google's action is commendable, the move doesn’t protect users who already downloaded the apps in the past, with some reportedly having been available for download since mid-2020. They will have to remove those manually and use an anti-virus program or cleaner to remove up any loose ends.

The majority of the victims were found in the US, the UK, Germany, Spain, Australia, Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina. 

To operate properly, the malware asks the victim to grant it Accessibility Service permissions, which is often a red flag and should help most people identify a malicious app from a legitimate one. 

That being said, with Accessibility enabled, the malware is able to grab device and hardware information, including Android ID, brand, CPU, model, OS version, language, developer options status, SIM details, and firmware. Furthermore, it can identify the device’s physical location, ISP name, organization, and services. It also comes with a few features to help it determine if it’s installed on a genuine device or an emulator.

Finally, the malware can pull a second-stage payload from the C2 server.

Via BleepingComputer

More from TechRadar Pro



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

TechRadar's Year in Review: AI revolution, smartphone evolution, and visions of the future

If I had to sum up 2023 in one word it would be AI. Okay, technically that’s two initials, but let’s not quibble – because there’s no doubt that it provided the year in tech with its main story arc. Artificial intelligence was everywhere this year, as every company in the world gawped at the massive impact of ChatGPT, and decided they wanted to jump aboard that bandwagon. You could barely move for new chatbots, new image generators, and new AI-enhanced features in every device released in 2023. And there’s no sign of that changing in 2024; in fact, we expect it to be an even bigger deal. Elsewhere, phones and laptops did much the same as they had the previous year – well, except where they had new AI-enhanced features – so it was in the virtual reality space where bigger changes were afoot. If the Meta Quest 3 was impressive then the Apple Vision Pro looks to be genuinely game-changing, and we can’t wait to see what impact it has in the next 12 months. Of course we also saw plenty ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Microsoft and Sony enter "binding agreement" to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation

Microsoft has announced that it has reached a "binding agreement" with Sony, pledging to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation following the acquisition of Activision Blizzard.  With Microsoft having won its anti-trust case with the US Federal Trade Commission , its planned acquisition of Call of Duty developers Activision Blizzard has taken a big step closer to becoming a reality. In order to alleviate the concerns of monopoly-building that got Microsoft in legal hot water to begin with, the head of Xbox, Phil Spencer, announced yesterday via Tweet that it has entered into an "agreement to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation."  This agreement will no doubt come as a relief to fans concerned that Microsoft's acquisition plans might result in Call of Duty becoming an Xbox exclusive, following in the footsteps of future Bethesda releases. Since Microsoft's acquisition of Bethesda caused the studio to break its tradition of offering titles cross-platform for upcomi...
Post a Comment
Read more

This Stardew Valley-like farming sim plays at the bottom of your screen so you work and play at the same time

Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing are among some of the best choices out there if you're looking for a game to get swept up in for hours at a time. But, if you're a fan of management sims and a multitasker as well, this upcoming farming sim will likely pique your interest.  Developed by Mister Morris Games, Rusty's Retirement is an idle-farming simulation game that runs at the bottom of your gaming monitor, allowing you to focus on other tasks like working while you tend to your crops. Set to release in Q1 2024 on Steam , the idle sim puts you in the shoes of a wholesome robot as you grow crops and use them to produce clean and energy-efficient biofuel. Having gathered this "vital robot power source," you'll then need to sell your harvest to the other machine inhabitants of your settlement. This, in turn, will let you reinvest the money into expanding your farm. If you're a terrible procrastinator (like me) this might not sound like your cup of tea...
Post a Comment
Read more