Android is a very versatile ecosystem with freedom at its core. It is currently holding 74.45% of mobile market share according to MacWorld. However, as there are so many different brands and companies that make cheap and good smartphones with Android there are also some downsides to this. You might be thinking that what they are, right?
Well, there has always been that iOS vs Android dispute among people. This has been mainly around security and protection that each platform provides. As many people have now been working from home the threats have increased and are targeting users with highly complex vulnerabilities and methods to bypass all mitigations in place. This also includes 0-day vulnerabilities and dangerous exploits.
These are the emerging threats that you need to keep an eye out for!
Table of Contents
5 Android Security Threats You Need To Know About
Worms
Recently discovered by WeLiveSecurity, a new type of Worm is attacking devices. It hacks WhatsApp and sends your contacts a fake text message with a link to a malicious app that is used to generate ad-revenue for its operators by installing adware on victim’s phone. The way a worm works is that it keeps on replicating itself to infect as many devices on a network as possible. So, in such a case first disable your wireless and mobile data and format or run a full antivirus scan on your device.
SMS Attacks
SMS Trojans have recently picked up in attacks because of how easy they can manipulate people. They majorly use Social Engineering attacks by pretending that they are from your Bank, Government Tax or that you have received a heavy fine. They insert a malicious link to an app that later goes on to steal your credentials. Never open links in your SMS from sources you never heard of, always check first.
Remote Access Trojans
Infamously known as Remote Administration Tools these are used for a variety of purposes including monitoring employees or someone you know. These have existed for a fairly long time and since early 2012. However, they are not freely available on the PlayStore because of their policies. This is because they have been used primarily for hacking purposes which abused their features. Androrat Apk is one such example of a famous Android RAT that you can download from multiple sources. Originally found on GitHub it has various features such as a Server and Client interface that allows for payloads to be created.
To stay safe from such tools even if it is a prank from a friend, never open any app that is not official from Google. Do not install any app file that you have been sent from a friend or unknown person.
Unsecure WiFi Access Points
This is an ongoing threat which many have seemed to ignore since recently. This is because as internet users we love to access wireless. This can be for reasons such as download a quick app update or even downloading your favourite game instead of using mobile data. However, the threat you don’t know is that there can be a hacker good or bad watching your internet traffic. They can see which websites you visited and when you visited them, it has also been talked about in Kaspersky’s mobile threat report.
0-day Vulnerabilities
Hackers are specifically targeting high-profile targets such as Journalists for surveillance purposes, they utilise bugs that have not yet been patched to evade capture. To stay safe from such a threat always download the latest Android security update.
The Bottom Line
Their methods are always evolving and so should you. However, the golden rules are that you should keep everything up-to-date and follow the statement of (If it’s too good to be true, it probably is). Did you ever come across any of the above and what was your experience?