Tag: android
-
The VB2014 presentation you never saw. Early launch Android malware: your phone is 0wned
Malicious apps may have more privileges than security software. There are many people without whom a Virus Bulletin conference wouldn’t be possible: the VB team, the crew from Cue Media , the hotel staff, the speakers, the sponsors , the delegates. But the unsung heroes of a conference are the reserve speakers. They prepare a…
-
VB2014 paper: Exposing Android white collar criminals
Luis Corrons dives into the world of shady Android apps. Over the next few months, we will be sharing VB2014 conference papers as well as video recordings of the presentations. Today, we have added ‘Exposing Android white collar criminals’ by Panda Security researcher Luis Corrons. Android is by far the most popular operating system when…
-
Black Hat Europe – day 1
Programme packed with interesting talks. Though the prestige of Black Hat Europe doesn’t compare to that of its American parent conference, and the event certainly doesn’t dominate the debate on Twitter in quite the same way, more than 800 security experts descended on Amsterdam this week where, in the RAI Convention Centre, the 14th edition…
-
Paper: Obfuscation in Android malware, and how to fight back
Axelle Apvrille and Ruchna Nigam look at both off-the-shelf products and custom obfuscation techniques. After a relatively slow start, in recent years mobile malware has really taken off. In many ways, mobile malware has followed the same path as taken by malware targeting desktop PCs. We have seen mobile adware, spyware, fake anti-virus, banking trojans,…
-
Cheap Android phone comes shipped with spyware
Trojan masquerades as Google Play app; cannot be removed. Researchers at German security firm G Data have discovered Android smartphones that come shipped with spyware. The phone is the N9500 from Chinese manufacturer Star , which appears to be very similar to the popular Samsung S5 , but with a much lower price tag. Following…
-
‘Mobile Thursday’ at the VB conference
Record number of presentations dedicated to threats affecting smartphones. The significant increase in mobile threats is reflected in the VB2013 programme, which includes seven presentations on mobile malware. Security experts have always been fascinated by mobile security, a subject which has been covered at many previous VB conferences. As far back as 2002, T-Mobile ‘s…
-
Compromised Yahoo! accounts continue to spread Android malware
Problem likely to be on Yahoo!’s side. In recent weeks, we have noticed an uptick in the amount of spam sent from compromised Yahoo! accounts; we have reasons to believe the problems are on Yahoo! ‘s side, rather than that of its users’. Spam sent from compromised accounts is notoriously hard to filter: the sender…
-
AV Test releases Android test data
30 mobile solutions tested for malware protection and speed hit. Independent test organization AV-Test has released its latest report, covering the Andriod platform. This major test of mobile solutions included 30 contenders, with offerings of varying complexity. As well as rating malware detection, false alarms and performance, extra points were given for including additional security…
-
Commoditization increasingly seen in mobile malware
Number of malicious samples and families increase, as Android remains most popular mobile platform. As the number of mobile malware samples in existence continues to grow faster than ever, the mobile threat landscape is looking more and more like that of Windows . Five years ago, a poll of visitors to this website found that…
-
Spam link sends Android users to trojan proxy
Meanwhile, desktop users sent to (relatively harmless) weight-loss site. Links found in certain spam emails which redirect desktop users to a phony weight-loss website, have been found to send mobile users to a trojan proxy, according to researchers at Lookout . Clicking links in spam emails falls into the “don’t try this at home” category,…