An Israelian cyber security firm, Check Point, has detected multiple traces of malware hidden in Android devices. The malware wasn’t downloaded onto the devices by the users but came with the phone upon purchase. Two different forms of malware were found to be affecting the Android devices. Among them were Slocker and Loki Malware. I’ll go into more details about these forms of malware in a moment. But this invasion into the technology people depend on so dearly raises an important question first: Will all of our devices (Androids not being exclusively targeted) come with this fear that our phone has been manufactured with malware already installed?
The folks at Check Point say that the malware was added somewhere along the supply chain. These different types of malware essentially serve the same purpose: they block out users from getting into their device. But the Loki Malware is by far the more malicious of the two, as it has the ability to evolve over time. It honestly sounds like The Terminator to me, but hey, who asked me? Loki Malware has the ability to steal memory, corrupt or steal data, steal personal information, or even find its way to your contacts so that it can spread. Where is Arnold Schwarzenegger when you need him? The other, less malicious malware found in the 38 devices was Slocker. This form of malware is still bad. It blocks users out of all their files and demands a ransom to get the information back.
As technology progresses more and more, there’s always the threat of this technology being taken advantage of. We know for sure now that hackers know how to infect their malware onto the Android devices. It’s only a matter of time before they figure out–if they haven’t already–how to target us in other ways, too. That’s why, as technology progress, so should the security surrounding this technology. Thankfully, the government issued a malware cleaning center to be developed back in December. This system is used to remove malware, but I think there needs to be a bigger focus on preventing the attacks in the first place.
The most recent Android hack was most certainly not the first (in November of last year over 1 million Android phones were infected by hackers). The fact that these invasions keep happening makes it clear that the Android device is very vulnerable. The phone itself may be a great product, but users must be wary–as it comes with a hidden price tag of insecurity.
