Android has a very big problem with malware again, a new one named SonicSpy infecting at least 1000 applications for the company's platform Google. We are talking here about a very large number of Android applications that are affected by this malware, many of which are also available in Google Play, despite the fact that Google has security systems that should prevent this.
Android has this problem with malware because we are talking about an open operating system that can be exploited very easily by anyone. In the case of SonicSpy, we are still talking about a malware that uses clones of the Telegram Messenger application, but not only, to spread among Android terminals that install applications from anywhere, including Google Play.
Android has this malware discovered by a company called Lookout, which announced the discovery of SonicSpy after seeing that Google Play applications included it. SonicSpy was hidden in messaging applications, for the most part, these being also functional in the Android smartphones on which they were installed, so the hackers thought of a rather complex hack this time.
Android is invaded by malware called SonicSpy
Android is so easy to exploit, that when the application is installed on the phone, it runs the malware in the background, even if the application is not used. We are basically talking about a malware that can work without problems in Android even if the user does not use the application through which it was installed, and all because the operating system is not sufficiently well protected.
Android allows this malware to control the camera, microphone, make phone calls, send SMS messages, view the contact list and send information about the Wi-Fi connection. Basically, hackers can take anything they want from Android and do almost anything that is important, all without the user knowing at one point or another that his smartphone has been infected in such a way by malware.
"The sample of SonicSpy most recently found on the Play Store, called Soniac, is marketed as a messaging app. This includes the ability to silently record audio, take photos with the camera, make outbound calls, send text messages to attacker specified numbers, and retrieve information such as call logs, contacts, and information about Wi-Fi access points."
Android is attacked with SonicSpy, this time, by a team of hackers from Iraq, who publish all the applications using the country's name. The attack itself is not a completely new one for the Android platform and it certainly won't be the last either, because all the existing openness in Google's operating system allows hackers to carry out such attacks without being stopped by anyone.
Android is constantly updated by Google, which solves security problems, but these are impossible to repair, unfortunately.
