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Google Sues Operators of 10-Million-Device Badbox 2.0 Botnet

posted by mrpg on Monday July 28 2025, @02:58AM   Printer-friendly
from the preinstalled-malware dept.

fliptop writes:

Google has filed a lawsuit against the Badbox 2.0 botnet operators, after identifying over 10 million infected Android devices:

These devices lack Google's security protections, and the perpetrators pre-installed the Badbox 2.0 malware on them, to create a backdoor and abuse them for large-scale fraud and other illicit schemes.

While updates to Google Play Protect kept the malware away from devices running Google services and automatically blocked associated applications, the fresh lawsuit is meant to help the internet giant dismantle the criminal operation behind the botnet.

Badbox 2.0 "is already the largest known botnet of internet-connected TV devices, and it grows each day. It has harmed millions of victims in the United States and around the world and threatens many more," Google notes in its complaint, a copy of which was shared with SecurityWeek.

[...] According to Google, Badbox 2.0 is operated by multiple cybercrime groups from China, each having a different role in maintaining the botnet, such as establishing infrastructure, developing and pre-installing the malware on devices, and conducting fraud.

Originally spotted on Schneier on Security.

Previously: Thousands of Android Devices Come With Unkillable Backdoor Preinstalled

Original Submission

 
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  • (Score: 3, Informative) by shrewdsheep on Monday July 28 2025, @11:20AM (2 children)

    by shrewdsheep (5215) on Monday July 28 2025, @11:20AM (#1411796) Journal

    It's kind of ironic that Google is suing after they were the ones who set up the conditions for this to occur.

    I'm not exactly sure what you mean, but being able to root my phone and install a de-Googled version of Android is a good thing in my book. It's just the case, again, that free stuff is never really free (and fools and their money, and so on).

    An insightful comment on Schneier on Security points out that apparently click and ad-fraud was conducted and this was what triggered Google. Google doesn't care in general as long their ad business not affected.

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  • (Score: 2) by DadaDoofy on Monday July 28 2025, @01:37PM (1 child)

    by DadaDoofy (23827) on Monday July 28 2025, @01:37PM (#1411806)

    "a de-Googled version of Android"

    I'm not exactly sure how you could accomplish that given Android itself is a Google product.

    • (Score: 3, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 28 2025, @04:00PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 28 2025, @04:00PM (#1411822)

      Dude! Are you sure you're a nerd?

      https://de-googled.com/ [de-googled.com]