Android. A very serious problem has been revealed for the operating system of the Google company, and it puts into perspective the weak level of security that the phones that use the operating system have. More precisely, ESET researchers have discovered a new type of malware that belongs to the ransomware category, infecting Android phones and then distributing itself through automatically sent SMS messages.
Android. This malware is called Android/Filecoder.C, and after infection, the user's contact book is scanned, and SMS are automatically sent to spread it as much as possible. In those SMS, the malware includes links to malicious websites that can infect phones with the Android operating system, so users who access them have no way to defend themselves unless they have an antivirus installed.
SERIOUS Android Problem Affecting ALL Phones
Android. The good part of this attack is that the file encryption method, for which the attackers then demand money, is weak, and can be overcome quite easily by skilled computer scientists. The problem with this new attack on Android phones lies in the method by which the malware spreads, more precisely SMS messages sent to contacts from people's phones, which so far has not been used by other hackers.
"The campaign we discovered is small and rather amateurish. Also, the ransomware itself is flawed – especially in terms of the encryption which is poorly implemented. Any encrypted files can be recovered without help from the attackers. However, if the developers fix the flaws and the distribution becomes more advanced, this new ransomware could become a serious threat."
Android. Another good part lies in the fact that the list of files that are encrypted by the malware is quite limited, the people from ESET considering that it was copied from Wannacry, which was not intended for phones. Interestingly, this malware does not prevent the use of phones by locking the screen, but only the access to certain files, and the reward required to unlock them differs from one Android phone to another.
Android. It is not known how many people are affected by this new type of malware, but you must be extremely careful and not access websites you do not know, because you can be infected extremely easily.
