One thing which has been common on devices and software’s are malicious activities and Android phones and applications have for long been a victim of such malicious activities through a malware attack.
Something like this happened once again, where Android devices have been attacked by a new type of malware which is called the ‘GriftHorse Malware’. The new malware is quite different than other malwares and though its potency to attack users serve on the same guidelines, it has gone undetected for some time before it was discovered by the researchers at a mobile company called Zimperium.
So how does this malware work?
To start off the malware had spread through all benign looking applications on the Google Play Store. Such applications are harmless externally, but they have been infected by the malware which upon download gets into your phone as well. The malware appears in the form of advertisements on applications while the user is using it which displays various offers and prizes to intrigue the user. If by chance, the user likes a deal and tries to tap on it for further details or participation. The service asks user to enter their phone number for procession and he is then unknowingly charged for a SMS service which deducts an amount of 35 dollars or so every month from his account.
The new malware has supposedly infected up to 200 applications in 18 different app categories, in over 70 countries with the infected devices number being around 10 million.
The malware according to researchers Aazim Yaswant and Nipun Gupta has a code quality spread across various forums and an ability to spread so silently that it goes undetected. The fact that it spread from 200 applications and none of the applications’ anti-virus detect team could pick it up is a proof for its silent spreading.
According to researchers it is expected that hackers who have created this malicious malware are now generating over 1.5 million to 4 million dollars every month. However, with its detection now, the applications that spread the virus have been removed from the app store, but the fact that the virus has been around since end of 2020 and none of the comments on Play Store reported it shows how vague and untruthful the reviews are.
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Something like this happened once again, where Android devices have been attacked by a new type of malware which is called the ‘GriftHorse Malware’. The new malware is quite different than other malwares and though its potency to attack users serve on the same guidelines, it has gone undetected for some time before it was discovered by the researchers at a mobile company called Zimperium.
So how does this malware work?
To start off the malware had spread through all benign looking applications on the Google Play Store. Such applications are harmless externally, but they have been infected by the malware which upon download gets into your phone as well. The malware appears in the form of advertisements on applications while the user is using it which displays various offers and prizes to intrigue the user. If by chance, the user likes a deal and tries to tap on it for further details or participation. The service asks user to enter their phone number for procession and he is then unknowingly charged for a SMS service which deducts an amount of 35 dollars or so every month from his account.
The new malware has supposedly infected up to 200 applications in 18 different app categories, in over 70 countries with the infected devices number being around 10 million.
The malware according to researchers Aazim Yaswant and Nipun Gupta has a code quality spread across various forums and an ability to spread so silently that it goes undetected. The fact that it spread from 200 applications and none of the applications’ anti-virus detect team could pick it up is a proof for its silent spreading.
According to researchers it is expected that hackers who have created this malicious malware are now generating over 1.5 million to 4 million dollars every month. However, with its detection now, the applications that spread the virus have been removed from the app store, but the fact that the virus has been around since end of 2020 and none of the comments on Play Store reported it shows how vague and untruthful the reviews are.
