Security experts at Check Point have discovered malware called Agent Smith that has infected over 25 million Android devices.
According to Check Point employees, the mentioned malware was created in China by one of the Internet companies that helps local Android application developers to localize and publish their products in foreign markets. The main distribution source for Agent Smith is the third-party app store 9Apps, which is quite popular in the Asian region.
The program got its name due to the fact that it imitates one of the characters in the movie The Matrix. The software hacks other apps and makes them show more ads. Moreover, the program steals money earned from displaying advertising content.
The report says that Agent Smith predominantly infected the devices of users from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Despite this, 303 and 000 devices were infected in the US and UK, respectively. Experts say that, among other things, malware attacks applications such as WhatsApp, Opera, MX Video Player, Flipkart and SwiftKey.
The report states that Agent Smith attempted to infiltrate the official Google Play Store digital content store. Experts found 11 applications in the Play Store that contained code related to the previous version of the Agent Smith malware. It is noted that inside the Play Store, the malware in question did not show any activity, since Google blocked and removed all applications that were considered infected or were at risk of it.
Check Point believes that the main reason for the distribution of the mentioned software is related to the Android vulnerability, which was fixed by the developers several years ago. The widespread distribution of Agent Smith suggests that not all developers make timely security patches to their applications.
Source: 3dnews.ru