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SMS-Controlled Malware Hijacking Android Phones
wiredmikey writes "Security researchers have discovered new Android malware controlled via SMS that can do a number of things on the compromised device including recording calls and surrounding noise. Called TigerBot, the recently discovered malware was found circulating in the wild via non-official Android channels. Based on the code examination, the researchers from NQ Mobile, alongside researchers at North Carolina State University said that TigerBot can record sounds in the immediate area of the device, as well as calls themselves. It also has the ability to alter network settings, report its current GPS coordinates, capture and upload images, kill other processes, and reboot the phone. TigerBot will hide itself on a compromised device by forgoing an icon on the home screen, and by masking itself with a legit application name such as Flash or System. Once installed and active, it will register a receiver with a high priority to listen to the intent with action 'android.provider.Telephony.SMS_RECEIVED.'"
Downloading things from backwater websites has a higher risk of malware being present than downloading from reputable sources. ...That's some fine detective work there, Lou.
More seriously; It shouldn't come as any surprise that given how valuable your location data and personal information is, and how much of that is stored on a cell phone, and how most companies have declared themselves to have absolute rights to it (go ahead, try and stop us! *evil overlord laugh*), it shouldn't be surprising that other people (legitimately or otherwise) are hopping on the "All Your Privacy Are Belong To Us" gravy train.
So people will be all like "Oh noes! Someone wrote an evil bot!" ... Of course, they'll forget that the malware that the telecos have loaded on your phone makes that look positively amateur.
#fuckbeta #iamslashdot #dicemustdie
If you root your phone, your phone could be rooted!
I can't record my own audio on my Android phone but a malware app can? So let me get this straight - to get what I believe should be a regular functionality I have to have someone install a malware app? Ridiculous. This is almost like giving someone syphillis to cure them of AIDS!
I thought it said "SOS-Comptroller Malawi Carjacking Androgenous Phonemes". I'm glad I'm not the only one who can't read, and others are willing to share their reading comprehension problems for everyone to enjoy as well.
Tic-Tac-Toe, Global Thermonuclear War, and relationships all have the same winning move.
That's not the WHY though.
They WHY is because people with the 'click' mentality, that is stronger on a mobile, have less fear of adding a possibly infected program. I just don't think the regular Joes of the world have as much awareness of possible malware laden software when it comes to their phone.
Easy - piracy. It's the same reason people will happily torrent new release games and applications and run them on their PCs, or download Windows 7 to install on a brand new PC. Hell, malware infested versions of OS X and Photoshop abounded a couple of years ago (they installed a botnet client during the install).
And face it - a large number of places do not support Google Wallet/Checkout/whatever, especially in places like China. They might now, but once a habit is ingrained, it tends to stay such.
These sites popped up because of that (you couldn't get the app otherwise) and the end result is they florished and people pretty much got used to the idea of "apps are free" - why pay $2 at Play when your favorite app site has it for free within hours? And if you didn't know of any, your friends who told you what phone to get will steer you in the right direction.
Even Google's DRM thing isn't that effective - I have seen many DRM-cracker apps available on the torrents that remove it from an APK file.
And let's not even begin to talk about AOSP-based phones which have to be rooted/hacked to run Play - it's often easier to just download the damn app for free than hack in Play or hope that whatever market came with the device (if any) will carry it.
For those, perhaps many of these stores have their own market apps and they get preloaded, so users don't know any better. Especially if normal developers also use those stores
Heck, you should see the iOS piracy sites sometimes - they get overrun with people who buy the latest Apple iDevice and plead "HOW DO I INSTALL?!?!? I NEED IT NOW!!!" long before jailbreaks are released (you have to jailbreak to install the modified installer binary to allow unsigned stuff to run). Of course, without that 15-minute Google refund thing, new apps actually have to be bought and paid for, so app selection is far more limited.
That, and Apple tends to ensure everywhere they can officially buy devices to access the App Store, Apple is right there willing to sell. (The biggest news is that Apple finally allowed Chinese customers pay in Yuan instead of US dollars).
This is not the first Android malware reported, and the story is always missing three key pieces of information:
1) What applications (or sites) were hosting the malware so that we can check to see if we have those apps.
2) How to tell if you are infected (and saying "it will register a receiver with a high priority to listen to the intent with action 'android.provider.Telephony.SMS_RECEIVED" doesn't really explain anything, especially to the layperson).
3) What to do about it if you are infected.
This story is no different
"Tell me doctor, with all of your defenses, are there any provisions for an attack by killer bees?"
ohh please stop trolling and use the Market/Play search box
Was going to mod you down, but I'll post instead. Did you even LOOK at the results page you linked to? There are a handful of call recording apps (which don't seem to work on most phones. I've tried all of the ones on page 1 on both my Moment and my Evo 4G), and nine hundred and something apps with the word "call" or "record" somewhere in there.
You'd think that an app store run by google would have smarter search capabilities...
I guess nobody ever roots their iPhones to install homebrew software. All of those rooting videos on youtube must be my imagination.
@AC - Just because YOU don't have a need or desire to install software from alternative sources doesn't mean nobody else should. That's not even a platform specific desire. Apple or Android - if you own a smartphone you have a portable computer in your pocket. There will always be people who want to tinker and think outside the box and push the limits of what they can do WITH A DEVICE THEY OWN. They shouldn't have to play by Apple's rules, Google's rules, or yours. It doesn't make them 'fandroids', it makes them curious.
I've used both platforms, and both seem to have an 'approved' appstore and both can access others by jailbreaking (sic). Even the android phones I used were locked down by the carrier to only use the 'real' appstore. I don't see what the substantive difference is in those kinds of cases.
Apart from what others have posted: the apps in the Google App store are hardly vetted: any developer can post whatever s/he likes, and it is immediately available in the store. Google may remove the app later on if it breaks some of the rules, and I don't think that happens very often. In contrast, Apple checks every version of every app, and only when it is approved it is published.