Want to buy some Android hacking tools?
Posted by: Timothy Weaver on 08/05/2013 02:46 PM
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Want to buy some hacking tools? The mobile security outfit Lookout says that just 10 professionally run malware-making workshops in Russia are responsible for 30 per cent of the Trojans, spyware and other nasties infecting smartphones globally.
These affiliates customize their copy of the malware to make it look like the latest Angry Birds or Skype utility, for example. Then they use social networks, such as Twitter, to draw people into downloading the booby-trapped software. Almost all the malware targets Android smartphones.
"We reviewed 250,000 unique Twitter handles and of those, nearly 50,000 linked directly to these toll fraud campaigns," Lookout researcher Ryan Smith explained in a blog post.
"The victim may have been using search engine or click through links in tweets or mobile ads, then unwittingly download the malicious app which secretly adds a premium SMS charge to their phone bill."
"Organized groups of Android malware authors are operating like startups: tapping multiple individuals or organizations for specialization in different business areas, leveraging online tools for promotion and developing affiliate programs," the Lookout team explained.
More than 50 per cent of Lookout’s total malware detections during the first half of 2013 were Russian-based toll fraud. And 60 per cent of this activity can be traced back to just 10 centers in Russia.
These affiliates customize their copy of the malware to make it look like the latest Angry Birds or Skype utility, for example. Then they use social networks, such as Twitter, to draw people into downloading the booby-trapped software. Almost all the malware targets Android smartphones.
"We reviewed 250,000 unique Twitter handles and of those, nearly 50,000 linked directly to these toll fraud campaigns," Lookout researcher Ryan Smith explained in a blog post.
"The victim may have been using search engine or click through links in tweets or mobile ads, then unwittingly download the malicious app which secretly adds a premium SMS charge to their phone bill."
"Organized groups of Android malware authors are operating like startups: tapping multiple individuals or organizations for specialization in different business areas, leveraging online tools for promotion and developing affiliate programs," the Lookout team explained.
More than 50 per cent of Lookout’s total malware detections during the first half of 2013 were Russian-based toll fraud. And 60 per cent of this activity can be traced back to just 10 centers in Russia.
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