Evolution of Android Malware “The touch, the feel of being tricked into sending premium SMS messages, the worst feeling of our lives” (Part 3)

Evolution of Android Malware “The touch, the feel of being tricked into sending premium SMS messages, the worst feeling of our lives” (Part 3)

by Nathan Collier

Android.SMS.FakeInst is a Trojan that aims to do one thing — trick users into sending premium SMS messages by pretending to be an install for an app.  Here’s how the scam works: The user sends three premium SMS messages in exchange for an app, but there is no guarantee that it will actually install anything after they already have your money.  These malicious apps are getting harder and harder to discern as malicious as the look and feel of these apps get better through newer iterations.  One variant of these Trojan apps, which comes from a known malicious site, looks better with each update.  Let’s start with one of the first iterations of this variant.

The icon looks fairly convincing:

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New service converts malware-infected hosts into anonymization proxies

New service converts malware-infected hosts into anonymization proxies

What happens when a host gets infected with malware? On the majority of occasions, cybercriminals will use it as a launch platform for numerous malicious activities, such as spamming, launching DDoS attacks, harvesting for fresh emails, and account logins. But most interestingly, thanks to the support offered in multiple malware loaders, they will convert the malware-infected hosts into anonymization proxies used by cybercriminals to cover their Web activities.

In this post, I’ll profile a newly launched service, offering thousands of malware-infected hosts as Socks4 and Socks5 servers for anonymizing a cybercriminal’s Web activities.

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An Evolution of Android Malware “When stealing data isn’t enough meet…GoManag …“ (Part 2)

An Evolution of Android Malware “When stealing data isn’t enough meet…GoManag …“ (Part 2)

In our continued series of how Android malware authors continue adding functionality to their work we take a look at GoManag. First seen last year, targeting Chinese speakers, GoManag is a Trojan that installs as a service so it can run in the background, collects device information and downloads payloads.  Its odd name comes from part of a URL it attempts to contact to.

Malicious GoManag app running in the background as the name “Google Search (Enhanced)”

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A peek inside the Elite Malware Loader

A peek inside the Elite Malware Loader

Just like today’s modern economy, in the cybercrime ecosystem supply, too, meets demand on a regular basis.

With malware coding for hire propositions increasing thanks to the expanding pool of talented programmers looking for ways to enter the cybercrime ecosystem, it shouldn’t be surprising that  cybercriminals are constantly releasing new malware loaders, cryptors, remote access trojans, or issuing updates to web malware exploitation kits on a periodic basis, using the outsourcing market model.

Continuing the “Peek inside…” series, in this post I’ll profile the Elite Malware Loader. In the wild since 2009,  the malware loader is still under active development according to a recently spotted advertisement within the cybercrime ecosystem.

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How cybercriminals monetize malware-infected hosts

How cybercriminals monetize malware-infected hosts

The vibrant cybercrime underground ecosystem offers countless ways to monetize the malware-infected hosts at the disposal of the malicious attacker.

From converting them to anonymization proxies assisting cybercriminals in covering their Web activities, to launching DDoS attacks, and using them to disseminate spam and more malicious threats, cybercriminals have a vast arsenal of monetization tactics in their arsenal.

In this post we’ll profile a recently advertised service offering thousands of Facebook “Likes”, Twitter followers, and YouTube views, all for the modest price of a couple of hundred rubles, entirely relying on malware-infected hosts for supporting their infrastructure.

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A peek inside the Ann Malware Loader

A peek inside the Ann Malware Loader

The ever-adapting cybercrime ecosystem is constantly producing new underground releases in the form of malware loaders, remote access trojans (RATs), malware cryptors, Web, IRC and P2P based command and control interfaces, all with the clear objective  to undermine current security solutions.

Continuing the “A peek inside…” series, in this post I will profile a malware loader recently advertised within the cybercrime ecosystem , namely, the Ann Malware Loader.

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