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Have you recently purchased an Android phone? Depending on the brand and where you got it, you may have purchased a device pre-loaded with malware.<\/p>\nHave you recently purchased an Android phone? Depending on the brand and where you got it, you may have purchased a device pre-loaded with malware.<\/p>\n
So far, two unidentified vendors have been found selling smartphones from a variety of manufacturers containing malware from two different and particularly nasty families of malware: SLocker and Loki.<\/p>\n
In all, at least thirty-six different models have been discovered, including phones from:<\/p>\n
\u2022 Lenovo
\n\u2022 Oppo
\n\u2022 Nexus
\n\u2022 Asus
\n\u2022 LG
\n\u2022 Xiaomi
\n\u2022 Samsung<\/p>\n
And others. As you can see, these are some very big names in smartphone manufacturing.
\nIt\u2019s important to note that the malware was not on the phones in question when they left their respective manufacturers. The malicious code was inserted later, at some point along the supply chain.<\/p>\n
This is an especially dark development, because in both cases, the malware is especially vile.<\/p>\n
Loki made its first appearance in 2016 and is highly advanced. It is a Trojan that coopts the Android OS, giving root-level permission to itself and any other software installed on its heels.<\/p>\n
That means that the hacker who controls it has access to your browsing history, call history, location data, contact list and more.<\/p>\n
SLocker is certainly no better. It is a mobile ransomware that locks the owner\u2019s device, then demands a ransom, payable in bitcoins. It\u2019s a grim piece of malware for two reasons. First, because it communicates with its creators via TOR, it\u2019s virtually impossible to track and identify the hackers. Second, in addition to locking the device, it gives the app controller unfettered access to everything on it.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s the complete list of smartphones that have been identified. It\u2019s worth noting that not every unit sold from these models will be infected, but these are the models at risk:<\/p>\n
\u2022 Asus Zenfone 2
\n\u2022 Galaxy A5
\n\u2022 Galaxy Note Edge
\n\u2022 Galaxy Note 2
\n\u2022 Galaxy Note 3
\n\u2022 Galaxy S4
\n\u2022 Galaxy Note 4
\n\u2022 Galaxy Note 5
\n\u2022 Galaxy S7
\n\u2022 Galaxy Tab S2
\n\u2022 Galaxy Tab 2
\n\u2022 Lenovo A850
\n\u2022 LenovoS90
\n\u2022 LG G4
\n\u2022 Nexus 5
\n\u2022 Nexus 5X
\n\u2022 Oppo N3
\n\u2022 OppoR7 plus
\n\u2022 Vivo X6 plus
\n\u2022 Xiaomi Mi 4i
\n\u2022 Xiaomi Redmi
\n\u2022 ZTE x500<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Have you recently purchased an Android phone? Depending on the brand and where you got it, you may have purchased a device pre-loaded with malware. So far, two unidentified vendors have been found selling smartphones from a variety of manufacturers containing malware from two different and particularly nasty families of malware: SLocker and Loki. In […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":25203,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[34,30],"yoast_head":"\n