Watch Out — Microsoft Warns Android Users About A New Ransomware:
Microsoft has warned about a new strain of mobile ransomware that takes advantage of incoming call notifications and Android's Home button to lock the device behind a ransom note.
The findings concern a variant of a known Android ransomware family dubbed "MalLocker.B" which has now resurfaced with new techniques, including a novel means to deliver the ransom demand on infected devices as well as an obfuscation mechanism to evade security solutions.
The development comes amid a huge surge in ransomware attacks against critical infrastructure across sectors, with a 50% increase in the daily average of ransomware attacks in the last three months compared to the first half of the year, and cybercriminals increasingly incorporating double extortion in their playbook.
[...] "This new mobile ransomware variant is an important discovery because the malware exhibits behaviors that have not been seen before and could open doors for other malware to follow," Microsoft 365 Defender Research Team said.
"It reinforces the need for comprehensive defense powered by broad visibility into attack surfaces as well as domain experts who track the threat landscape and uncover notable threats that might be hiding amidst massive threat data and signals."
(Score: 2) by ikanreed on Tuesday October 13 2020, @06:58PM (1 child)
Get your apps from f-droid. If it's not open source with a build history to compare to compiled result, it's malware.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 14 2020, @05:41PM
Better yet, do Nandroid backups regularly, copy them to a PC and wipe/restore as needed.
It's helpful to have something like TWRP [twrp.me] and often useful to have adb tools [xda-developers.com] installed as well.
What's more, it's probably not a bad idea to have an actually *open* version of Android, like Lineageos [lineageos.org] too.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 13 2020, @08:24PM
"Here is a warmed-over bug from a couple years ago that requires you to install a malicious app from a non-approved source and also approve its abusive permissions. Still, you absolutely have to buy our "security" software that will help us gain entry into a market where we currently have zero presence!"
Microsoft's market position has faded from the 90s, but their FUD machine is going strong!