Despite Android’s greatest efforts, sometimes a malicious app sneaks through the cracks. Android uses a very sophisticated algorithm to sniff out potential threats and quickly shut them down. Because of how much easier it is to get an app into the Play Store versus the App Store, malware tends to be a bigger issue.
If you’re trying to get a virus into the app marketplace, how do you do it? You hide and disguise it as a game? Productivity app? No. Apparently, someone took it a step further and disguised a Trojan virus as a premium security app. Oh, the irony. Kaspersky Labs first reported the latest Zeus malware yesterday. Dubbed Android Security Suite Premium, the app actually first appeared earlier this month with new updates since then.
The threat of such viruses is evident whether you’re an average consumer or business that has employees sharing confidential information with one another. What this Zeus malware does is steal incoming text messages and sends them to servers which are operated by the attackers. Apps with this malware are also able to receive commands for uninstalling themselves, stealing system information, and enabling or disabling other malicious applications.
Being that a lot of private data can move in and out of someone’s phone via text messages, these kinds of viruses pose a very real threat. Where viruses use to have a special place in their hearts for Windows machines, mobile has grown exponentially over the years and is a newer target for attackers. Before downloading an app, always make sure that it is safe. Doing a quick Google search can give you all sorts of important info, info that could just save you from getting your information stolen.