Spyware are malicious applications that are used by cybercriminals to spy on stealing data from devices. Smartphones are an attractive target because they contain everything from banking details to a user’s personal information. Authorities recently removed a spyware found earlier this month that used to disguise itself as a harmless application to carry out such attacks on the Android devices of unknown persons.
PhoneSpy was found to be hidden in 23 Android applications, for purposes ranging from learning yoga to watching TV and videos or browsing photos. The spyware was active in South Korea. It used to steal data, messages, pictures and even give remote control of infected Android phones to criminals.
The stolen data included personal photos intended for corporate communications. Zimperium, the cyber security agency that discovered the spyware, said on November 22 that PhoneSpy is no longer active and that its command and control servers have been removed. The agency further said that even the infected equipment is no longer under the attackers’ control.
While the applications carrying PhoneSpy were not listed on the Google Play Store, the attackers used web traffic redirection or social engineering platforms to distribute the spyware.
Once inside your device, PhoneSpy can steal important data including images, call logs, contacts and messages, retrieve a complete list of installed apps, record audio and video in real time using the phone’s camera and microphone Can extract device information like IMEI number, device name and brand, and even give remote access to the device.
After installation and launch, the infected app will show a sign up page for Kakao that can be used to log into other services in South Korea with the single-sign-on feature. An error message occurred after signing in on the page. In some cases, the app itself was an excuse, with none of the advertised functionality. In other cases, like the photo viewer, the app worked as advertised with PhoneSpy working in the background.
How to protect your phone from spyware
First and foremost, never download and install any app on your smartphone from an untrusted source. Always use the Google Play Store to find and install apps on Android devices.
As seen with some PhoneSpy apps, users received an error message after trying to log into the application. Any such unusual behavior is suspicious and may be a sign that the application contains malware.
Also, never click on suspicious links or install unverified applications received through mail or text messages. Take a look at what the login page you normally use looks like. Any deviation from the original layout or minor errors in the login page could be a sign that you are being targeted by cybercriminals.
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