Much of the malware that people tell you to be wary of impacts you negatively in a relatively roundabout way. They would either steal your personal information or spy on you in some way, shape or form, but with all of that having been said and now out of the way it is important to note that a new type of malware that has just been detected has a much more direct impact on the people that are currently affected by it.
This malware is being called Dark Herring, and the way that it works is that it adds inconspicuous charges to one’s mobile bill and earns money through that technique. The truly shocking thing about this malware is that it has already infected over a hundred million Android devices around the world, or 105 million to be precise, and this has resulted in it stealing hundreds of millions of dollars from the people that managed to get it onto their phones in the first place.
The only way in which the malware was able to spread so quickly was due to its widespread nature on the Play Store. There were around 470 apps that contained this malware, each of which billed you $15 every single month if you downloaded them without giving a reason for why they were doing so. While Google has removed every single one of these apps, the damage has been done and the malicious actors that are responsible for this have managed to pull off quite a heist that has allowed them to become rich.
These apps covered a wide range of niches, and they were engineered to be provided in the native language of the user in question. They often targeted users in developing countries with less secure banking protocols, so the people that were charged this money likely couldn’t afford to part with it. While low income countries like Egypt and Pakistan were mainly targeted, developed nations like Finland were also a part of this attack so suffice it to say that this is one of the biggest malware heists in recent memory and the users that still have the apps could still be charged in their next bill.
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This malware is being called Dark Herring, and the way that it works is that it adds inconspicuous charges to one’s mobile bill and earns money through that technique. The truly shocking thing about this malware is that it has already infected over a hundred million Android devices around the world, or 105 million to be precise, and this has resulted in it stealing hundreds of millions of dollars from the people that managed to get it onto their phones in the first place.
The only way in which the malware was able to spread so quickly was due to its widespread nature on the Play Store. There were around 470 apps that contained this malware, each of which billed you $15 every single month if you downloaded them without giving a reason for why they were doing so. While Google has removed every single one of these apps, the damage has been done and the malicious actors that are responsible for this have managed to pull off quite a heist that has allowed them to become rich.
These apps covered a wide range of niches, and they were engineered to be provided in the native language of the user in question. They often targeted users in developing countries with less secure banking protocols, so the people that were charged this money likely couldn’t afford to part with it. While low income countries like Egypt and Pakistan were mainly targeted, developed nations like Finland were also a part of this attack so suffice it to say that this is one of the biggest malware heists in recent memory and the users that still have the apps could still be charged in their next bill.