If you own an Android smartphone and you were interested in downloading an app that’s related to Jay-Z’s new release “Magna Carta Holy Grail” you may want to think twice. There’s a version of this app that was spotted by McAfee that is really marware:
On the surface, the malware app functions identically to the legit app. But in the in the background, the malware sends info about the infected device to an external server every time the phone restarts. The malware then attempts to download and install additional packages. The only visible indication that a user is infected comes via a time-based trigger that is set to activate on July 4, Independence Day in the United States.
The payload is a political message. It’s an image of President Barack Obama with comments about recent events in the US. Clearly the hacktivists behind this are out to make a point. But McAfee did point out that there is nothing here that says that this couldn’t be leveraged for something else. Thus my advice is going to sound very familiar to frequent readers of this blog. Don’t download stuff from untrusted sources if you want to remain safe.
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This entry was posted on July 5, 2013 at 9:49 am and is filed under Commentary with tags Android, Security. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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Hacktivists Make A Point By Leveraging Jay-Z’s New Release
If you own an Android smartphone and you were interested in downloading an app that’s related to Jay-Z’s new release “Magna Carta Holy Grail” you may want to think twice. There’s a version of this app that was spotted by McAfee that is really marware:
On the surface, the malware app functions identically to the legit app. But in the in the background, the malware sends info about the infected device to an external server every time the phone restarts. The malware then attempts to download and install additional packages. The only visible indication that a user is infected comes via a time-based trigger that is set to activate on July 4, Independence Day in the United States.
The payload is a political message. It’s an image of President Barack Obama with comments about recent events in the US. Clearly the hacktivists behind this are out to make a point. But McAfee did point out that there is nothing here that says that this couldn’t be leveraged for something else. Thus my advice is going to sound very familiar to frequent readers of this blog. Don’t download stuff from untrusted sources if you want to remain safe.
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This entry was posted on July 5, 2013 at 9:49 am and is filed under Commentary with tags Android, Security. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.