Researchers question Android spam botnet claims
Researchers have claimed skepticism around the existence of a spam botnet on Android devices, despite reports from Sophos and Microsoft claiming the issue was real.
Speculation surrounding the threat began last week when Terry Zink, a program manager for Microsoft Forefront Online Security, claimed spam messages were being sent using the Yahoo Mail app on Android devices.
The devices were logging in to the user's Yahoo Mail account via the app in order to send out the unwanted messages, he said. "We've all heard the rumors, but this is the first time I have seen it – a spammer has control of a botnet that lives on Android devices," Zink wrote. Although Zink had not found the actual Android malware responsible for the spam campaign, he argued there was indirect evidence in the messages' email headers.
