A new virus is ripping through Android devices searching for new opportunities to infect more devices. Nicknamed "Agent Smith" after the Matrix character, the malware is thought to be spreading at an alarming rate.
It infects devices when the user installs an app that contains the malicious code, typically games installed from third-party sites.
From there, Agent Smith scours the device for other apps it can 'feed on' replacing them with a cloned, weaponised version without the user's permission.
Some apps Agent Smith is capable of replicating include WhatsApp, web browser Opera and SwiftKey. It's estimated infected devices contain on average 112 cloned apps.
The dodgy apps work fine and are difficult to detected as the malware is hidden from the device user.
"Armed with all the permissions users had granted to the real apps, Agent Smith was able to hijack other apps on the phone to display unwanted ads to users. That might not seem like a significant problem, but the same security flaws could be used to hijack banking, shopping and other sensitive apps," Check Point's Aviran Hazum said.
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printed from SoylentNews, `Agent Smith' Infects 25 Million Android Devices Globally; Makes WhatsApp, Opera and SwiftKey Clones on 2024-04-25 16:08:42