New SMS Trojan Found In Android Markets

Trailrunner7 writes "The Android platform seems to have become the playground of choice for attackers and malware authors looking to make a quick buck. The latest example is a premium-rate SMS Trojan that not only automatically sends costly SMS messages, but also prevents users' carriers from notifying them of the new charges. The new piece of malware, which is known as HippoSMS, has been found in unofficial Android app markets in China. This is just the latest in a series of similar incidents in which attackers and scammers have inserted either outright malicious apps or seemingly benign apps containing malware into app markets. Most of the attacks have targeted Android users, and several times Google has had to remove malicious apps from the official Android market."

Comments

Information, please!

[Chonnawonga]

Why don't these articles ever tell you WHICH markets and apps are affected? Oh, that's right, they're too busy trying to generate page hits through scare-mongering to care about information.

(I'm not trying to say these aren't legitimate threats: quite the opposite. But, good reporting would help mitigate these threats by publicly shaming and informing.)

Re:Information, please!

[Chonnawonga]

No, that's the name of the malware, not the apps. FTFA:

"The malware is embedded in a seemingly legitimate application in the market, and once users download and install that app, the fun begins."

It goes on to talk about "the host app" which the malware "piggybacks". Which app? They don't tell you. They'd rather tell you that "The Apple iPhone may still be the gold standard when it comes to smartphones".