A warning has been issued to Android users about a really scary strain of malware that’s been discovered on the Google Play Store. The reports come from Express.co.uk.
As you know, Android is one of the most widely used software with two billion devices running the OS on a monthly basis.
Android has been indeed the subject of some important security alerts so far. You may recall the Judy malware campaign which saw up to 36.5 million devices that have been infected.
The Android phones have been attacked via dozens of apps that were located on the Google Play Store.
Exodus plagued 25 apps in the store
Now, it seems that Android users are being warned once again about a strain of malware that’s been discovered in the store.
The security researchers discovered a dangerous strain of malware of about 25 apps on the Google Play Store and “the malware was dubbed Exodus and had some terrifying functionality with it capable of rooting devices and boasting advanced spying features,” the online publication mentioned above writes.
Exodus was capable of gathering phone numbers and sending them to external servers, and it could also severely compromise a device after rooting it.
With these phones, Exodus could extract passwords, chat logs, contact details and more. It was also capable of creating local audio and video recordings which is even scarier.
In order to root devices, Exodus used an exploit that was called DirtyCOW which was patched by Google back in 2016.
The online magazine assures readers that updated phones are immune to this and the Exodus is limited to gathering data available to other apps.
The existence of Exodus has been unveiled via a blog post online following an investigation performed by Security Without Borders and Motherboard.
Exodus reached iOS devices as well
It seems that Exodus has also made its way onto iOS devices.
The malware circulated via phishing sites after the Apple Developer Enterprise programme was “abused.”
In a post online the IT security firm Lookout said: “For the past year, Lookout researchers have been tracking Android and iOS surveillance-ware, that can exfiltrate contacts, audio recordings, photos, location, and more from devices.”
They said that some versions of the Android malware were present ion the Google Play Store.
Thankfully, Google took care of things and removed the 25 apps which had the Exodus on board.
After finishing Theatrical Journalism at the Faculty of Theatre and Television in Cluj-Napoca, Rada reviewed movies, books, theatre pieces and she also wrote articles from the IT niche as a content editor for software producers. At the moment, she is working with various online advertising firms.