Malicious app "BadNews" downloaded over 9 million times on Google Play

Security researchers found that the malicious library called BadNews was disguised as an advertising network and downloaded more than 9 million times from Google Play, Google's official app store. The BadNews library was embedded in as many as 32 applications, mainly games, which escaped Google's malicious program detection. When a smartphone is infected with BadNews, the phone will contact the malicious program command control server every 4 hours and send the user's sensitive information, such as mobile phone number and International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI). Researchers also found that the malicious program command server will force users to install AlphaSMS and send text messages to premium numbers, which is a common strategy for mobile Trojans.

Article from: solidot