As the world of computers is shifting its focus to mobile phones, so is the army of malwares. Lookout, a rich mobile security venture has just blogged about a malware it calls ‘the most sophisticated malware to date’. It’s a malware that grafts itself onto genuine applications making it easier to be accepted by the phone. It’s being called ‘Geinimi’.
Lookout is a mobile anti-malware company for the Android, BlackBerry and Windows platforms.
People who download applications only through Android’s official market are less vulnerable to this malware as it is currently dangerous only in third party app marketplaces. This is not usually accessed by the user unless he is very curious about the settings and he runs in to the trap. Also what makes it weak is that it asks the user for too much information that makes him realize something’s wrong.
Reportedly Geinimi has only been able to send data from the device to a remote server and not in the opposite direction. For the unfortunate lot, Lookout has a list of damages the malware is capable of making.
- It leaks location of the phone.
- It leaks the identification of the phone (IMEI and IMSI).
- It leaks the list of installed apps to the server.
- It asks user to download and use random app.
- It asks user to uninstall existing app.
Geinimi can conceal its activities by encrypting and byte coding them. Botnets can also be created by using this Android malware. This will give the control of that phone in the hands of that server. Its risks are enormous.