BadNews Android apps spread SMS trojan
Researchers have discovered a new family of malware that found its way into legitimate apps inside Google's official store thanks to a malicious advertising network.
The malware was detected in 32 apps across four different developer accounts in Google Play and was downloaded up to nine million times, according to Lookout researchers who dubbed the malware BadNews.
Far fewer users were infected with malicious code. BadNews “ads” were hosted in a range of apps, from popular games to Russian dictionary apps (about 50 percent of the malicious apps are in Russian). The fake ads prompted users to download app updates where malware dubbed AlphaSMS was downloaded.
