BREAKING NEWS!

How we love our mobile devices! Some of us can’t live without them. Everywhere we look we see people with eyes glued to their devices – be it while walking in public, in lifts, in trains, cars, buses, in restaurants and the list goes on.

One wonders how many people realize the danger that lurks in these mobile devices, aside from the obvious dangers that befall some of them – walking into wall, bumping into another person, walking into the path of an oncoming vehicle, etc.

Let’s look at the latest danger you face this time around. We have mentioned before of mobile devices being compromised, but it can’t be repeated enough. Creating awareness is the aim of this advisory.

Here is a malware (see Definition) called Gazon, which sends messages to your phone contacts with offers for Amazon vouchers. When this voucher is opened, the victim is asked to participate in a survey in order to get Amazon vouchers. ‘Free’ is a word that we all love. The victims end up clicking a scam (see Definition) page or are requested to download a game from Google store. Unknown to the user, when they click these pages, they are helping the author earn money through their clicks. In the mean time, the malware is harvesting all the victim’s contacts, sending each of the contacts a spam message with a link pointing to the body of the worm.

AdaptiveMobile regards this as one of the single largest messaging-initiated mobile malware outbreaks.

The attack originated in the US and went live on 25^th February. In this short space of time, it has infected thousands of mobile devices, with 16,000 unique infections in more than 30 countries around the world, including Canada, UK, France, Philippines and Korea.

This attack utilizes various channels to propagate including Facebook and email, but the most popular channel for distribution is SMS, amounting to 99% of malicious messages. Why does it use your contacts to spread the message? Well, you trust your contacts, don’t you? The attackers are basically exploiting people’s inherent trust when receiving such messages from their phone contacts. By resorting to mobile messaging, which is one of the most effective methods of distributing malware, the attackers achieved rapid global reach.

Let’s face it, when you receive a message from a friend or a loved one that offers a free gift voucher or other similar offers, you most likely will accept it as the real deal.

The bottom line is that malware threats (threats in general) for Android users are an ongoing problem. Antivirus company Avast has warned that 5 percent of Android users, which is approximately 50 million people, have been infected by malware.

So, take heed!

Recommendation

1. If you receive messages with free offers, seek verification from the sender (if the sender is from your contact list).
2. If the sender is not someone you know, delete the message.
3. Do not click on suspicious links in SMS text messages.
4. Install an antivirus program in your mobile device.

Definition

Malware (malicious software) – includes threats such as viruses, worms, Trojans, spyware and ransomware. In mobile devices, the malware apps steal data, commit financial fraud, and impact device performance.

Scam – a con game or fraudulent scheme performed by someone to obtain money or something else of value.

Source

1. Help Net Security
2. Tripwire