Security experts have warned Android smartphone owners to be on their guard against newly discovered malware that steals SMS messages and emails them to cyber criminals in China.
The malware is part of what is described by tech security company FireEye as one of the "largest and advanced" mobile botnets to date. The bot-net, which is dubbed "MisoSMS," has already been used in several spyware campaigns.
MisoSMS infects Android systems by deploying a class of malicious Android app.
The mobile malware masquerades as an Android settings app used for administrative tasks. When executed, it secretly steals the user’s personal SMS messages and emails them to a command-and-control (CnC) infrastructure hosted in China, FireEye warned.
Each of the campaigns has been found to leverage web mail as its (CnC) infrastructure and the CnC infrastructure comprises more than 450 unique malicious email accounts.
The attackers logged in from Korea and mainland China, among other locations, to periodically read the stolen SMS messages.
"This threat highlights the need for greater cross-country and cross-organisational efforts to take down large malicious campaigns," FireEye reported.
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