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+--- Thread: Android malware steals million Google accounts (/showthread.php?tid=725)
Android malware steals million Google accounts - Mhiz Rebecca - 12-01-2016
Malicious software designed to attack Android smartphones
has breached the accounts of more than a million Google users,
security researchers said Wednesday.
The report by Check Point Software Technologies said the
malware dubbed Gooligan targets devices running Android 4.0
and 5.0, which represent nearly 74 percent of mobile devices
using the Google-powered operating system.
The attacks can steal email addresses and authentication data
stored on the devices to access sensitive data from Gmail,
Google Photos, Google Docs and other services, Check Point
said.
“This theft of over a million Google account details is very
alarming and represents the next stage of cyber-attacks,” said
Michael Shaulov, Check Point’s head of mobile products.
“We are seeing a shift in the strategy of hackers, who are now
targeting mobile devices in order to obtain the sensitive
information that is stored on them.”
Check Point said researchers discovered Gooligan’s code in an
application last year and that a new variant appeared in
August 2016, affecting some 13,000 devices per day. About 57
percent of those devices are located in Asia and about nine
percent are in Europe.
“The infection begins when a user downloads and installs a
Gooligan-infected app on a vulnerable Android device, or by
clicking on malicious links in phishing attack messages,” the
company said in a statement.
Attackers can gain control over the device and generate
revenue by fraudulently installing apps from Google Play and
rating them on behalf of the victim.
Check Point said it reported the details of the malware to
Google, and that the tech giant indicated it would take steps to
protect users.
Google did not immediately respond to an AFP query.