Mobile Threat prevention Team from Checkpoint Software Discovered Pre-Installed malware in more than 30 android smartphone models belonging to popular Mobile companies such as Samsung , Lenovo , Nexus,Xiaomi ,Asus , LG, Oppo,Vivo .
This malware is not an usual malware as download to the devices and attacker behind of the infection . This has been pre-installed with the devices .
According to the Checkpoint Report , The malware was installed when the manufacturer complete the installation of the applications on the devices and finally users received with infected device.
Checkpoint Explained , “The malicious apps were not part of the official ROM supplied by the vendor, and were added somewhere along the supply chain. Six of the malware instances were added by a malicious actor to the device’s ROM using system privileges, meaning they couldn’t be removed by the user and the device had to be re-flashed.”Discovered malware belongs to two different type of families called Loki malware, Slocker. slocker also called as Mobile Ransomware
Slocker uses the AES encryption algorithm to encrypt all files on the device and demand ransom in return for their decryption key. Slocker uses Tor for its C&C communications, Checkpoint said.
Loki malware initially discover in earlier of 2016 by Dr.web , which performed adds net activities to The malware displays illegitimate advertisements to generate revenue.
As part of its operation, the malware steals data about the device and installs itself to system, allowing it to take full control of the device and achieve persistency.
Infected Devices from Popular Manufacturers :
These are the Device model has been infected
- Galaxy Note 2
- LG G4
- Galaxy S7
- Galaxy S4
- Galaxy Note 4
- Galaxy Note 5
- Galaxy Note 8
- Xiaomi Mi 4i
- Galaxy A5
- ZTE x500
- Galaxy Note 3
- Galaxy Note Edge
- Galaxy Tab S2
- Galaxy Tab 2
- Oppo N3
- Vivo X6 plus
- Nexus 5
- Nexus 5X
- Asus Zenfone 2
- LenovoS90
- OppoR7 plus
- Xiaomi Redmi
- Lenovo A850
Recent Threat Activities Cause the huge impact especially in Mobile Devices and day by day it increasing the behaviour of malware reflected to unexpected damages .
The discovery of the pre-installed malware raises some alarming issues regarding mobile security. Users could receive devices which contain backdoor or are rooted without their knowledge.
To protect themselves from regular and pre-installed malware, users should implement advanced security measures capable of identifying and blocking any abnormality in the device’s behavior, Checkpoint warned .
