I thought you might find this interesting.. John
This article is a great explanation how the Android systems are so easily hacked. A few weeks ago I attended a Cybersecurity program put on my my CPA firm, three speakers and it lasted close to three hours. Much was talked about, some of the largest hacks and what it’s costing the firms, not only in revenue but reputation….and how these naughty people so easily get into our “secure” world. When they got to “Mobile” the speaker mentioned the iPhone was rock solid, almost impenetrable, but the Android-Google phones were wide open and had great risk of your information being stolen and the device made inoperable…yet the man was using an Android….somehow I can’t figure this out. On break he walked up to the person sitting in front of me who also had an Android and they were talking about the virus software they each used….What? Why in the world? If you explained to your child the stove was hot, but he tried it anyway, thus learning his lesson, do you imagine he would go back and touch the stove again? Sometimes I try but just can’t figure things out. The article below appeared today on CNBC, it shows that the hackers have been able to use the Nintendo gaming system to implant fake apps on your Android phone. The methods you read about below has been used on the Androids for a long time, fake apps to steal your information but now they are using the gaming console to do their work for them, leaving the user unaware as the article says. I thought I would pass along, maybe some folks are taking the approach it doesn’t matter if they get my info., must be some reason the open door policy is used by so many. Hope this gives you a small understand of security in our mobile world. Hackers use fake mobile games to steal data Arjun Kharpal <http://www.cnbc.com/id/101091325> | @ArjunKharpal <http://twitter.com/ArjunKharpal> 10 Hours Ago CNBC.com Hackers are packing malicious viruses into fake mobile Nintendo games to infect Android devices, a new report reveals. The malware – or malicious software – known as "Gunpoder" has the ability to steal personal information as well as take payments. Attackers embed malicious code into what is known as Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) emulator, according to Palo Alto Networks's <http://data.cnbc.com/quotes/PANW> report. This NES app, not affiliated to Nintendo, lets you play very old games from the Japanese company such as Super Mario on your mobile device. Once a user downloads the app, a pop-up appears with terms and conditions telling the user that the software has advertisements and collects data from your device and share it with third parties. By tapping "ok" the user is giving permission for Airpush -- software that allows developers to show ads within their app -- to carry out a data collection. When the user is past this stage, another pop-up asks if they would like to pay a "lifelong" subscription for the service. Using an online payment method such as PayPal or Skrill, users will be asked to pay between $0.29 or $0.49. Now the hackers are able to steal personal data such as location and contacts as well take money from users. By obtaining these details, hackers can carry out more targeted attacks such as sending a personalized email or text message with a malicious link. Due to the use of Airpush, the Gunpoder malware was able to evade antivirus software. Airpush is a legitimate third-party ad software that has "aggressive" data collection practices. But antivirus software labels Airpush as "adware" – or advertising software – and does not see it as dangerous. Because Airpush was included as part of the malware, the antivirus software was tricked and didn't block it. "The inclusion of the Airpush advertisement library causes many antivirus programs to simply label Gunpoder samples as adware, which is often not blocked by default. This allows some of the more malicious activity present in Gunpoder to continue unnoticed," Palo Alto noted. The NES app would also automatically send out text messages to a gamer's contact list containing a malicious link in order to spread the malware. Gunpoder targets Android users in at least 13 different countries, including Iraq, Thailand, India, Indonesia, South Africa, Russia, France, Mexico, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, Italy, the United States, and Spain, Palo Alto said.
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