A commercial malware scanner used by businesses has recently detected an outbreak of malware that came preinstalled on more than three dozen Android devices.
An assortment of malware was found on 38 Android devices belonging to two unidentified companies. This is according to a blog post published Friday by Check Point Software Technologies, maker of a mobile threat prevention app. The malicious apps weren't part of the official ROM firmware supplied by the phone manufacturers but were added later somewhere along the supply chain. In six of the cases, the malware was installed to the ROM using system privileges, a technique that requires the firmware to be completely reinstalled for the phone to be disinfected.
"This finding proves that, even if a user is extremely careful, never clicks a malicious link, or downloads a fishy app, he can still be infected by malware without even knowing it," Check Point Mobile Threat Researcher Daniel Padon told Ars. "This should be a concern for all mobile users."
Most of the malicious apps were info stealers and programs that displayed ads on the phones. One malicious ad-display app, dubbed "Loki," gains powerful system privileges on the devices it infects. Another app was a mobile ransomware title known as "Slocker," which uses Tor to conceal the identity of its operators.
The infected devices included:
- Galaxy Note 2
- LG G4
- Galaxy S7
- Galaxy S4
- Galaxy Note 4
- Galaxy Note 5
- Galaxy Note 8
- Xiaomi Mi 4i
- Galaxy A5
- ZTE x500
- Galaxy Note 3
- Galaxy Note Edge
- Galaxy Tab S2
- Galaxy Tab 2
- Oppo N3
- vivo X6 plus
Nexus 5[Removed in updated list.]Nexus 5X[Removed in updated list.]- Asus Zenfone 2
- LenovoS90
- OppoR7 plus
- Xiaomi Redmi
- Lenovo A850
Check Point didn't disclose the names of the companies that owned the infected phones.
Source: ArsTechnica
(Score: 2) by jmorris on Monday March 13 2017, @09:16PM
added later somewhere along the supply chain
That is "please don't sue me" for "added by the carrier, either at the head end or by a massive infection of the systems at the retail end." And since the article seemed determined to omit the info on where it was found, I'd say it was not the U.S. or first world. Saying it was in India or somewhere kills most of the more valuable clicks and reblogs in the first world.