Hi Audios,

Malware Infection Hits Russian Android Phones

The adage “Be careful what you wish for” has a modern-day counterpart: “Be
careful what you download.” Especially on your mobile phone.

On Tuesday several mobile security companies were analyzing a Trojan
horse<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trojan_horse_%28computing%29>that
appeared on phones running Google’s Android software in Russia.

The malicious software, which was discovered by Kaspersky
Lab<http://www.kaspersky.com/>,
an antivirus software company, is said to take
advantage<http://www.kaspersky.com/au/news?id=207576152>of Android
phones after users install what appears to be a “harmless media
player.” Once the file is installed the Trojan horse begins sending text
messages to premium-rate phone numbers “without the owner’s knowledge or
consent, resulting in money passing from a user’s account to that of the
cybercriminals.”

Lookout, a security company specializing in mobile antivirus software, said
in a blog 
post<http://blog.mylookout.com/2010/08/security-alert-first-android-sms-trojan-found-in-the-wild/>that
the malicious program was the first Trojan horse developed exclusively
for the Android platform. But it said the program would not affect Android
phone users outside of Russian cell networks.

Security experts also noted that the infected application was not available
in the Android Marketplace <http://www.android.com/market>, the store used
to download applications for the Android platform. Phone owners must
explicitly change a setting on their phone to permit the installation of
non-Marketplace applications.

Jay Nancarrow, a Google spokesman, said Android applications must get
permission from the user before doing things like sending text messages or
making phone calls.

“We consistently advise users to only install apps they trust,” Mr.
Nancarrow said in a statement. “In particular, users should exercise caution
when installing applications outside of Android Market.”

-- 
*Regards*

*Srinivas Burra
CEH | ECSA*

-- 
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups 
"nforceit" group.
To post to this group, send an email to [email protected].
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to 
[email protected].
For more options, visit this group at 
http://groups.google.com/group/nforceit?hl=en-GB.

Reply via email to